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Opinion Election Commission’s political plunge erodes its role as a neutral watchdog

Freebie debate can – and should – go on in the political domain. EC has no place in it

Election Commission, Election Commission's political plunge, Indian democracy, Indian Express, India news, current affairs, Indian Express News Service, Express News Service, Express News, Indian Express India NewsNow, in the name of disclosure to the voter, the EC seems prepared to cast aside its own legitimate reservations -- to take a political plunge.

By: Editorial

October 6, 2022 04:03 AM IST First published on: Oct 6, 2022 at 04:02 AM IST

Article 324 of the Indian Constitution vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections to Parliament and state legislatures and to the offices of president and vice-president in the Election Commission. Over the decades, and especially ever since a till-then sleepy body re-energised itself in the 1990s, the EC has become a success story of India’s democracy. It inspires widespread trust in its role as neutral and fair poll monitor. And the immense respect that it has gathered is as much a function of what it has not done, as it is an attribute of what it has. After all, in a complex mosaic formed by the interplay of elected and unelected power, institutional credibility can crucially depend on knowing the boundaries and abiding by the limits. It rests, often, in the judgment calls taken on when to push forward and when not to cross the line into the domain of others. By and large, the EC has shown admirable circumspection in the way it has interpreted its mandate under Article 324. The letter it wrote on Tuesday to political parties proposing they spell out how they will raise resources to finance their poll promises and its fiscal impact fails the high standards it has set itself.

In this case, quite literally so. Tuesday’s letter is a disquieting departure from the position that the EC has taken on the same issue in the recent past. In response to petitions, in affidavits it has filed in court, the EC said, rightly, that it would be difficult for it to become the arbiter of what is or isn’t a reasonable poll promise, what is a freebie and what isn’t, because of problems of definition – “… freebies can have different impacts on society, economy, equity…”, and “… both ‘freebie’ and ‘irrational’ are subjective and open to interpretation”. It expressed reluctance to wade into policy decisions that are a matter between the party and the voter. It politely, and again correctly, declined to be part of a committee proposed by the SC to look into the issue. Now, in the name of disclosure to the voter, the EC seems prepared to cast aside its own legitimate reservations — to take a political plunge.

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Because it would constitute a political plunge. If the EC arrogates to itself the power to sit in judgment on the feasibility of the promises parties make to voters, it would be guilty of stepping into a pact it is not part of. It would be doing so, moreover, by taking a cue from the party in power. In July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arguably in a bid to target the BJP’s political opponents, cautioned people against the “revdi (freebie) culture”, saying it is “very dangerous” for the country. Surely, the EC knows better than to endanger its own hard-won credibility, by intervening in a political matter in a way that seems to favour the incumbent and disadvantage the challenger. As for the “danger” posed by freebies, it is best left to the people’s judgment, and checks and balances such as the FRBM Act that encourage fiscal discipline in governance. Of course, the debate on freebies can — and should — go on in the political domain, amid stakeholders and candidates, shaped by ideology and rhetoric. The EC has no place in that space, it must retrace its steps.

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