LUCKNOW,February 24 2012: If substance really matters more than style, and surely that it does, there can be little doubt that the 63-year old former top bureaucrat and now the formidable Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi is a man of much substance.And to his credit, as he minutely overlooks the mammoth task of managing India’s complex electoral process, which has the distinction of being the world’s largest such activity involving a liberal democracy, Quraishi prefers to pursue a policy of quiet persuasion rather than exert raw pressure to ensure that Indian elections remain both free and fair… How else, he asks rhetorically, will we ever get the government we really deserve?
But, Quraishi, who spoke to Khaleej Times for nearly an hour from his residence in New Delhi on Saturday, is willing to admit: “Of course, we do have several pressing concerns which need to be both recognised and addressed by the federal government firmly and on a priority basis.” Unusually, for a man in his position, he is also willing to admit that “elections in India have unfortunately become the fountainhead of much corruption…given the brazen induction of criminals or those with criminal antecedents into the political system and the rampant use of money power by those who are in the fray.” And, in his view, which is now increasingly being backed by very many in many spheres, these are the two most crucial issues which have to be tackled immediately “if we want to continue to retain the legitimacy and credibility of our country’s electoral process.” But, he asserts, for this to happen “what is required is the political will and a certain minimum level of consensus amongst the various national and regional political parties to ensure that both these evils are combated and curbed effectively.” Also, what is equally imperative, Quraishi told the KT, is that the government agrees to a raft of electoral reforms as has been suggested repeatedly by the Election Commission over the years. However, he says, “I am now both optimistic and hopeful that these would be initiated during the parliament’s budget session beginning next month.” His optimism is also well anchored in the fact that, “following some of my initiatives, especially those regarding my emphasis on widespread voters’ education, India is now witnessing a ‘participation revolution’ and that augurs well for the future of Indian democracy.
Not surprisingly, he feels, given the evaporating ‘indifference’ of the Indian electorate, “the best is yet to come… for then, the will of the people will really be reflected in the governments we elect. And what is more, they will then be still more accountable to the people who elect them to power. That is the very essence of all good democracies.”
But, Quraishi, who spoke to Khaleej Times for nearly an hour from his residence in New Delhi on Saturday, is willing to admit: “Of course, we do have several pressing concerns which need to be both recognised and addressed by the federal government firmly and on a priority basis.” Unusually, for a man in his position, he is also willing to admit that “elections in India have unfortunately become the fountainhead of much corruption…given the brazen induction of criminals or those with criminal antecedents into the political system and the rampant use of money power by those who are in the fray.” And, in his view, which is now increasingly being backed by very many in many spheres, these are the two most crucial issues which have to be tackled immediately “if we want to continue to retain the legitimacy and credibility of our country’s electoral process.” But, he asserts, for this to happen “what is required is the political will and a certain minimum level of consensus amongst the various national and regional political parties to ensure that both these evils are combated and curbed effectively.” Also, what is equally imperative, Quraishi told the KT, is that the government agrees to a raft of electoral reforms as has been suggested repeatedly by the Election Commission over the years. However, he says, “I am now both optimistic and hopeful that these would be initiated during the parliament’s budget session beginning next month.” His optimism is also well anchored in the fact that, “following some of my initiatives, especially those regarding my emphasis on widespread voters’ education, India is now witnessing a ‘participation revolution’ and that augurs well for the future of Indian democracy.
Not surprisingly, he feels, given the evaporating ‘indifference’ of the Indian electorate, “the best is yet to come… for then, the will of the people will really be reflected in the governments we elect. And what is more, they will then be still more accountable to the people who elect them to power. That is the very essence of all good democracies.”