The Rajya Sabha today resumed discussion on Election Reforms. Intervening in the debate, Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the nation is marching towards development under the Narendra Modi government’s principle of Reform, Perform and Transform.
He strongly supported the ongoing exercise of SIR, saying fake voters should be removed from the voter list. He said that for this purpose, the SIR exercise is being conducted. The Minister said the government is committed to bringing reforms.
He said, those opposing SIR have forgotten that SIR is based on the idea put forward by the Founder of the Indian Constitution, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, that the Universal adult franchise is based on the principle of ‘One person, one vote, one value’.
Participating in the discussion, Dr M Thambidurai of AIADMK said that clean and accurate electoral rolls strengthen democracy, and transparency empowers voters.
He said the election campaign is one of the important processes, and the political parties must be given the proper chance for campaigning. He said, the Election Commission is a very vital part of the healthy democratic system.
Y V Subba Reddy of YSRCP said that electoral reforms a continuous reforms, emphasising that there should be fairness in the conduct of elections, clarity in outcomes and transparency in public disclosure. He demanded that mandatory public CCTV footage of elections and the provision of Live webcasting across all polling stations. The discussion is underway.
Sanjay Yadav of RJD emphasised that the country’s electoral reforms required a new generation of reforms which further strengthen the Election Commission and make the political parties responsible, and eliminate the use of money power during the elections.
H D Devegowda of JD(S) criticised the opposition for making allegations against the Narendra Modi government over rectification of electoral rolls.
KR Suresh Reddy of BRS demanded reforms in anti anti-defection law. He also said, BRS is in favour of the One Nation One Election theory.
Murli Milind Deora of Shiv Sena said SIR is a timely and essential process.
Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav ofthe Samajwadi Party said that elections should be held through the ballot.
Sandeep Kumar Pathak of AAP has emphasised ensuring that the Election Commission functions as an independent body.
Dr Fauzia Khan of NCP-SCP suggested for constitution of a JPC to frame better legislation on election reforms.She also questioned whether a Model Code of Conduct would be given statutory backing.
Kavita Patidar ofthe BJP said that the mandate of the people is with the party because the Narendra Modi government has won the trust of the people by its people-centric policies.
Other members, including Sulata Deo of BJP, Digvijaya Singh and Randeep Surjewala of Congress, Dr Sarfraz Ahmed of JMM, S Niranajan Reddy of YSRCP, and Dinesh Sharma of BJP, were among those who participated in the discussion. However, the discussion remained inconclusive, and the Chair adjourned the House to meet again at 11 AM tomorrow.
