Page 100 - Leap of Faith inside pages with cover (1)

Leap of Faith Journey of Indian Elections

Several recommenda ons of the Dinesh Goswami for delimita on exercise and composi on of the
Commi ee later became a reality. These included: legislatures (Ar cles 81, 82, 170 and 327). Meanwhile, the
a) making the Elec on Commission of India a three enactment of the Elec on Commission (Condi ons of
member body Service of Elec on Commissioners and Transac on of
b) issue of mul purpose photo iden ty cards to every Business) Act, 1991 on January 25, 1991 elevated the
voter on me bound basis Commission to its mul -member status besides laying
down service condi ons. It was, however, not before 1993
c) rollout of the Electronic Vo ng Machine, pending
formal clearance by technical expert commi ee that actual appointments were made.
d) statutory status for the Elec on Observers etc. On December 12, 1990 T.N. Seshan, who had earlier been
the Cabinet Secretary, was appointed as the Chief
On making the Elec on Commission a three-member Elec on Commissioner of India. His appointment is
body, the Commi ee further proposed that the perceived as an empha c development in the annals of
appointments should be done by the President of India in
the Indian elec ons. He asserted the authority and
consulta on with the Chief Jus ce of India and the Leader autonomy of the Elec on Commission; rigorously
of Opposi on in the Lok Sabha. implemented the Model Code of Conduct; spoke against
However, the incumbent government actually abolished electoral malprac ces; and enhanced the pres ge of the
the two posts of Elec on Commissioners, which the Commission in public mind.
previous government had created on October 7, 1989 T N Seshan warned the prospec ve miscreants with
under Ar cle 324 (2) of the Cons tu on of India. Thus tough ac on like countermanding the polls. The Tenth
S.S. Dhanoa and V.S. Seigell who were appointed to those General Lok Sabha Elec ons which began on May 20,
posts on October 16, 1989 lost incumbency following a 1991 were far from ideal. "They were marred by a number
Presiden al no fica on dated January 1, 1990. The of instances" as corroborated by R. Venkataraman the
Commission, therefore, reverted to be one-member then President in his memoirs My Presiden al Years
Cons tu onal body. (1994), "of violence, corrupt electoral prac ces,
On May 30, 1990 – in pursuance of the report of the in mida on, rigging and connivance of the polling
Goswami Commi ee – the Minister of Law and Jus ce officers with these malprac ces". Former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in a terror a ack on May
introduced the Cons tu on (Seven eth Amendment) Bill,
21, 1991 that led to two phases of elec ons being
1990 in the Rajya Sabha to amend the Ar cle 324 of the
Cons tu on. It specified the mode of appointment of the postponed. The President of India R. Venkataraman
addressed the na on on the electoral violence and
Chief Elec on Commissioner and other Elec on
Commissioners by President of India through statutorily malprac ces on DD and All India Radio on June 8, 1991. In
backed consulta ons with Chairperson of Rajya Sabha, the broadcast, he appealed to all poli cal par es to
abjure malprac ces and violence.
Speaker of Lok Sabha and Leader of Opposi on etc.
However, the Bill was not pursued and withdrawn on June The 10th General Elec ons were challenging. As per
13, 1994. Simultaneously withdrawn was the Cons tu on informa on given in the Lok Sabha, 365 persons were killed
(Seventy First Amendment) Bill, 1990 having implica ons and 3625 wounded between April 19 and June 16, 1991 i.e.

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