- Why independents fail to make a mark in elections
Jagdeep Chokar writes in his column for Hindustan Times that the stranglehold of political parties on the electoral and political system continues to increase with time. The anti-defection law, passed in 1985, formalised the control of political parties even on Parliament. Despite a large number of candidates on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), the candidates with a realistic chance of getting elected are two or three, having got tickets from major political parties.
Effectively, the choice of a voter is constrained by the choices made by a set of political parties. To sum up, this is what makes it almost impossible for independents to get elected. How many of our parties are democratic in their internal functioning is for the reader to decide. Why it is so difficult for independents to get elected?
As the saying goes, “Money makes the mare go.” The key lies in political and electoral financing. There are two major strands to this argument. First, while there is a limit on expenditure that an individual candidate can incur on her/his election, there is none on the amount that a political party can. This obviously puts independent candidates, who had no party to bankroll their election, at a huge disadvantage.
- India could show the US some spine on Iran, but it would rather flaunt muscle at home
Critically analysing Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy, Girish Shahane writes in his column for Scroll.in that Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, told Prime Minister Modi that the US expected India to end oil purchases from Iran, a nation with which India has strong economic ties and no serious differences.
The government’s silence was deafening in light of the declaration made by India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj at the end of May, after a meeting with her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, that “India follows only UN sanctions, and not unilateral sanctions by any country.” In late May it seemed like India was showing spine, but a month later, Modi appears to have caved. The head of the Indian Oil Corporation is speaking about replacing Iranian crude with petroleum sources from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The oil markets are factoring in sharp cuts to Indian purchases of Iranian crude.
he moment of reckoning has arrived more quickly than anticipated. While the Non-Aligned Movement may have been a mess in practice, the principles on which it was based remain relevant. For decades, they undergirded India’s foreign policy, which stayed fiercely independent even in times when the nation was reliant on aid from western powers. Will Narendra Modi keep to those principles by defying unjust US actions that are bound to cause great hardship and likely to trigger enormous bloodshed?
- Marking the boundaries
In her article for The Indian Express, Shailaja Chandra says that the judgment of the constitutional bench has been greeted with general approval by all political parties and with great euphoria by the Aam Admi Party (AAP). What emanates from three separate judgments delivered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and his two brother judges is, first, a veritable history of the administration of Delhi.
The labyrinthine route that was traversed over several decades of administering the Capital has been captured in copious detail. It is hoped that it would bring some sobriety into the grandstanding by a host of actors. What does all this mean for Delhi’s citizens? First, as long as every decision has been taken within the ambit of the Transaction of Business Rules 1993, which mandates informing the LG of decisions taken by the council of ministers or even by an individual minister, implementation of decisions can start without awaiting approvals.
But the Rules also have two important sub-chapters which refer to examination and concurrence by the finance and the law departments. This means a host of proposals can be called to question. Just a note of dissent given by the departmental secretary will give a handle to the LG to differ and withhold further action. That there ought to be discussion, dialogue and a genuine effort to solve problems is inbuilt in the rules, and has been reiterated strongly by the three judgments.
The judges have explained that the administrator as per rules has to be apprised of each decision taken by a minister or council of ministers and difference of opinion must meet the standards of constitutional trust and morality, the principle of collaborative federalism and constitutional balance. As long as Delhi is the national capital, it is everyone’s capital and the voice of non-Delhi citizens have to be heard through the central government acting on the decisions of Parliament. AAP’s hopes were misplaced and should not be resurrected afresh.
- Government giving false hopes on economy
Yogi Aggarwal says that the implementation of GST is flawed. In his column for Deccan Chronicle, he writes that many of the steps taken by the government to give the impression that it has stabilised the economy, in fact, show its desperation to conceal its weaknesses.
A massive flow of money into the stock market by domestic mutual funds at the pressure of the administration to give an optimistic view of the economy has created a bubble that could crash at any time. How far these factors have led to the abrupt resignation of chief economic adviser Arvind Subramaniam will only be known later. The government’s actions are around creating a feel-good tactic rather than a serious economic effort. It normally wins the approval of international aid agencies because it is pursuing their strategy of more privatisation of public resources.
The government is clearly evading its responsibility in an effort to cut down its fiscal deficit by making a profitable enterprise like LIC take on a loss-making one. The price will, of course, be paid by the policyholders who will get lower returns, and will have to pay them for the government’s incompetence.
The government is building up a false sense of hope to show the economy is doing well. If one follows a sense of reality rather than believe in fables such as this government propagates, it is not difficult to see the mess we are in.
- ‘Public spaces need proper planning, sound principles’
In her column for Hindustan Times, Kalpana Viswanath writes that it is important to have spaces that have mixed usage. One of the problems of single-use spaces is that they become deserted at certain times of the day.
But like everything else in a city, they also have to be valued, imagined and planned. Great public spaces don’t happen by themselves, they have to be designed and nurtured. We can look at some examples of how good public spaces have been created in cities not very far from us. Hanoi is an example. In 2014, a study found that within Hanoi’s central districts, parks, playgrounds, and flower gardens account for less than 1.2 percent of total land area.
Closer home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Mount Lavinia beach is a vibrant public space which is very inclusive, with a diverse crowd visiting; from ‘umbrella couples’ (couples who romance behind the privacy of a small umbrella!) to children, the elderly, tourists and locals. It is used from early morning hours when joggers and runners arrive till the evenings where large crowd descend to enjoy the open space and the freedom it offers. The beauty of the space is also highlighted by the usage by people from all classes and walks of like and does not only cater to tourists and the elite.
The residents of Gurugram will greatly benefit from good quality and lively public spaces. All of us need to be stakeholders in envisioning and planning these spaces.