Shaunak S. Samant
Owing to the certitude that we are a democracy, every individual has the right to be represented and discerned by the government. Our Sovereign Constitution plights us this voice. Sporadically, this voice is confiscated away for a fugacious aggregate of time, but we are assured to retrieve it sooner or later. This takes place when, the seat of a member elected to the Legislative Assembly of a State becomes vacant or is declared vacant or his election to the Legislative Assembly is declared void. In my analytical capacitance, this conventionally transpires under three milieux, Death of Member, Resignation of Member, or any other rationale leading to his election being declared void.
Momentarily we face a homogenous locale in the State of Goa. Immemorial Congress MLAs, Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar of the Mandrem and Shiroda constituencies’ respectively, resigned from the Goa State Legislative Assembly and acceded to the reigning BJP in preceding year during October.
Such ‘deflection(s)’ in this ‘Dirty Game’ known as Politics, for whatsoever reason may it be, habitually for desirable prospects arising out of the phenomenon called ‘horse trading’ or freshly established common ideological beliefs is oft cognised by us. Undoubtedly by-elections in the respective constituencies are entailed to be held in accordance to the law.
Precisely for such circumstance Parliament has set down few guidelines by means of an Act which to contents scepticism and contretemps surfacing out of or in connection with such elections. This Act is called, The Representation of the People Act, 1951.
According to Section 151 (A) of the said Act, notwithstanding anything contained in previous sections of this act, a bye-election for effectuating any vacancy referred to in any of the said sections shall be held within a period of six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy. This period of six months perorates on April 16, 2019 whereas elections are being held a week later on April 23, which is a violation of this Act of Law, thereby making these ‘elections’ non licet.
The intrinsic reason why such a manoeuvre would be taken is evidently that the General Elections for the 17th Lok Sabha are being convoked in Goa just a few days after the quietus of this term of 6 months, but the issue remains same. It is non-licet; it is a transgression of law legislated by Parliament. But there is an escape clause, Section 151 (A) further goes to state that, the term may be greater than 6 months if (a) The remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is less than one year; or (b) The Election Commission in consultation with the Central Government certifies that it is ‘difficult’ to hold the by-election within the said period (and the key locution being ‘difficult’). It doesn’t necessitate ‘ease’ or ‘convenience’ but difficulty being the determinant.
According to the Chief Election Officer of Goa, Kunal Ji (IAS), orchestrating elections in Goa prior to the quietus of the term of 6 months isn’t practicable due to two apologias (a) The Std 10 SSC Examinations and (b) Christian Holy Week i.e. Easter Week.
Both these apologias are unequivocally trumped-up. To contradict the first defence, I agree it isn’t possible to organise Election simultaneously during the Std 10 SSC Examination for questions of availability of premise for polling stations and low voter turnout of parents, teachers and other educational staff arise. Then it would have been the fidelity of the Election Commission to orchestrate elections prior to these examinations which are transpiring from April 2 to 21. They would have been free to do so in the months of March or February.
To contradict the second, it is conventional that well-nigh 30% of the Goan population are Christians and the Christian Holy Week may hinder the voter turnout. Well if this ‘Principle of Pigeonholing Elections due to Religious Obligation’ is being followed then, by virtue of India being a Secular Nation and we being given the ‘Right to Equality’, the General Elections must be postponed too. ‘Why’ you ask. Well, General Elections are also coinciding with the Holy Month of Ramadan which is held in high reverence amongst the Islamic Commune. The transpiration of the General Elections is such that it is also clashing with Hindu Festivals of Ramnavmi, Baisakhi, Pongal, Hanuman Jayanti and Bengali New Year which are undoubtedly cardinal to the Hindu Commune.
Well I am of the adamantine opinion that religious obligations are not a stalwart rationale to postpone a pivoted programme such as elections. If people can go to work and toil and can conduct their respective métiers, life in general goes on, then why can’t people vote. By the logic that the ‘Principle of Pigeonholing Elections due to Religious Obligation’ is agreeable, then all those Congress and AAP leaders who were catechising for General Elections to be rescheduled, whom the Right Wing and Right Wing Oriented Media were ridiculing are therefore accurate.
Ultimately it ushers us back to the stern point, now that I have proved the fickle nature of these justifications. Holding by-elections after a period of 6 months is non-licet. Some may asseverate stating that, it is for convenience’s sake. Well, there is no such provision in the entire Representation of the People Act of 1951, which allows us to transgress this period of 6 months for convenience’s sake. It clearly says ‘difficult’, so I plead with the Election Commission, to kindly give us a more plausible difficulty, not these two incogent defences.
The Election Commission, being a Sovereign Body with a Constitutional Status, so much so that in accordance to the Constitution, to Defenestrate a Chief Election Commissioner from Office, a motion of Impeachment by Parliament is necessitated. Such an exalted body shouldn’t be the genesis of blatant errors such as this especially where no consequences are broached for their deeds; they must deliberate on such affair with utmost judiciousness.
To conclude I ask the Election Commission to give us a ‘real’ difficulty, for if not, this is a verboten action taking place right before our observance, a violation of a Sovereign Act of Law. And the irony, if my indictment be held well, a violation by a body of constitutional repute.
