Gujarat Election Watch and National Campaign follow up

December 5, 2002

Dear Dr Trilochan Sastry and friends,

Thanks for the email.
 

Thanks for the email.
1.     I am delighted to note that you have listed 135 candidates with criminal record, and over 90%
        are covered by the affidavits filed by the candidates. I am certain you have taken all necessary
        steps to guard against malicious attacks on the scrutiny. This revelation is bound to generate a
        major public debate on candidate choice and disclosures. I have seen Mr. Rama Reddy's email to
        you. I would be grateful if you could send the entire list with full details to us by email/courier.
        In addition,  it wou...

2.     In the light of our earlier experience, may I suggest that you should consider explaining  to the media
        and public the following two points:

            a)    The list  is based on objective and verifiable standards, and names of certain candidates
                    may have been omitted for want of verifiable information.
 
            b)    Equally, it is possible that some of the candidates whose names have been included may
                    not be guilty of any wrong doing, and may be eventually let off by the courts. However,
                    their names satisfy the objective and verifiable criteria for public scrutiny, and voters are
                    entitled to all information pertaining to them.

            Such explanation will help ward off uninformed criticism and malicious attacks.

3.    In addition, I suggest that Gujarat election Watch should formally give a call to the voters to consider voting
       only for those candidates who voluntarily disclose their full criminal and financial record, irrespective of the
       current legal provisions. Already criminal disclosures are provided in law. Therefore financial disclosures must
        be insisted upon, and we must focus public attention on full disclosures.
 

4.    Finally, I understand that a few of the names now being released are not covered by the disclosure provisions
       of the current law. We need to keep the public fully informed of the details, and why and how their names
       satisfy the objective criteria we have laid down.

5.    We should fight for the whole gamut of electoral reforms, taking advantage of all these developments. I am
        briefing the MPs of Congress Party in Delhi on 7th December on the issue of disclosures at their request. We
        should make Gujarat elections the test case for voluntary and full disclosure of financial records of candidates.
        After the din of Gujarat  election subsides, we should get together a group of serious activists across the country
        to finalize the agenda for national campaign. All these sma...

6.    The supreme court's delay in delivering a verdict on our appeal challenging the constitutional validity of
       Section 33 B of the ordinance is somewhat disappointing. It is possible that the court is worried about the
       likely confrontation between the legislature and judiciary. The court may exercise the option of referring the
       matter to a larger Constitutional Bench to examine its own powers and the scope of basic features and judicial
       review. But that need not deter us. If court judgment is delayed, we..

7.    These and other strategies and action programmes need to be finalized once Gujarat  elections are over to
       unwaveringly focus public attention on disclosures, candidate choice and electoral reform. Once again, Gujarat
       team deserves our congratulations and best wishes.
 

Warm regards
 

Jayaprakash Narayan
National Coordinator
 

Lok Satta
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Hyderabad - 500 082
Tel: 040 23350778/23350790
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E-mail: loksatta@satyam.net.in
url: www.loksatta.org

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