Advani calls for fixed legislature terms

Yusuf

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GANDHINAGAR: BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani on Thursday sought a fixed term for Lok Sabha and state assemblies and wanted voting be made compulsory with elections to be scheduled in the month of February.

"I suggest that political parties and the Election Commission should think over whether we can change the Constitution for a fixed tenure for Lok Sabha and assemblies," 81-year-old Advani said after casting his vote here.

"We are following the UK pattern which does not suit us and we should change it," he told reporters.

Advani's suggestion implies that even if the government of the day loses its majority in Lok Sabha, the House should not be dissolved and a new government should assume office.

Pointing out the difficulties being faced during the summer months, Advani, who is seeking re-election from Gandhinagar, said "Polling percentage dips during the summer and elections should be held in February."

The senior BJP leader also said voting should be made compulsory. "Political parties and the EC should discuss to make voting mandatory."

He said the BJP will emerge as the single largest party and that the NDA will form the government at the Centre.

Advani, alongwith with his wife, cast his vote in the morning.

"After visiting the entire country, I am hopeful that BJP will emerge as the single largest party and NDA will be the biggest alliance, Advani said.

"I would like to give suggestions with regards to the elections in the country. First four Lok Sabha and assemblies elections between 1952 to 1967, were held together. But after that, with the dissolution of Parliament in 1971, Lok Sabha and Assembly polls were de-linked," he said.

In the last few years, we have been having general election or a mini-general election in every two years, Advani said.

"This situation is not good for governance. I want to give a suggestion which all political parties and Election Commission should thinkover," Advani said.

India is a federal state with not only Lok Sabha but also has 28 state legislative assemblies across the country, Advani said.

There are many European paliamentary democarcies where the tenure of legislature is fix, he said.
 

Yusuf

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I wonder if Mr Advani will support a two party presidential form of Government.
If he thinks the present UK style system is not suitable for us, then think about the beaurocracy which is the single biggest menace the British gifted us.
Basically the entire system needs an overhaul, in fact a dramatic change itself.
 

vish

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I'm in for keeping the polls in winter or spring.

Fixed terms is a no-go as far as I'm concerned.
 

Flint

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I support mandatory voting with an option on the VM itself to abstain. i.e. if you abstain from voting in protest, you need to go the polling booth and register your protest on the voting machine.
 

Yusuf

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Fixed term with a Presidential form of government is good for our country.
The cost of conducting the present general election is around 10,000 crores. Thats a lot of money and we cannot be spending that money every other year just because a Mayawati did not become PM or didnt get what she wanted, or Left did not like the governments pro US policy or Mamta didnt get the Ministry of revolt and protests etc..

Apart from the money spent, the set back to the economy as a whole due to political uncertainty is immense. So yes we can have a fixed term but also modify the system of government as well.
 

jackprince

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When we are at this why don't we go for electing Prime Minister candidate directly elected by People, not by MP's vote?

anyway, whatever Mr. Advani says it's not gonna happen as a majority of today's MPs come from small party who specialize in making and breaking Govt. and thus increasing their importance in power alley. So why bother arguing?
 

Yusuf

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We are arguing precisely because of that. We want these regional parties to be done away with. They are causing more harm than any benefit.
 

S.A.T.A

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Legal coercion must always be accompanied punitive sanction in case of non compliance.You also need to mention what punitive measures i will have to face in case i don't vote................Going too far,politicians must not talk out of their depth.........

Over the last decade or so Indian body politics has learnt the art of coalition politics and no less than two coalition govts have served out their full term.As much as politicians would like it,only the house can decide the duration of its term within the framework of the 5 year term stipulated by the constitution.Why should the house need a legal measure for what it is already empowered to do(last one day or five years).

They are not providing solution to the problem,but merely digging around it.This intellectual bankruptcy among some of the politicians is truly shocking.
 

Yusuf

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India's election procedure still needs to be streamlined. I got a scare when i went to vote as my entire family's name was there including my wife who is not originally from Bangalore, but not mine. Luckily there was another list in which my name was there.
So first thing is why were their two lists.
Many instances of voter name deletion has come across though the voter has a VID.
Sometimes the center to vote changes and the voter has to go around centers looking for the names to vote.

Once we have fool proof system to vote, only then we will be able to enforce any punishment on a non voter.
 

S.A.T.A

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The so called regional parties are not necessarily evil or politically regressive,it all ultimately depends on the political agendas these parties wish to woo the voters with.If the principle behind the body politics of a party is flawed,it doesn't matter if its regional or national,the result will be disappointing........

The very reason why regional parties are here and thriving clearly indicates that the so called national parties have failed to get through to many sections of the Indian society.Its almost presumptuous that one or two parties can represent the multitudes of India.more than four decades of single party rule has proved it otherwise.

While massive political reforms are required,but we must also heed to the lessons our recent experiences have thought us.
 

Yusuf

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SATA Sir, the regional parties pander to local political equations and play it to the max. But the national parties cant do such things because they are national parties. If it starts pandering to one region/state, it might hurt it in another.
Eg is Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the cauvery issue.
The DMK,AIADMK etc and stoke up sentiments and get votes on such issue, but then Congress/BJP cant do the same as it is present in both states. If it supports Tamil cause, it will lose in Karnataka and vice versa.
But the regional parties then garner enough seats in national elections and then cause all the problems. Maybe the constitution should be amended in such a way that the regional parties can fight only the local elections but not national. So that will eliminate these small parties extracting their pound of flesh in the national scene.
 

S.A.T.A

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SATA Sir, the regional parties pander to local political equations and play it to the max. But the national parties cant do such things because they are national parties. If it starts pandering to one region/state, it might hurt it in another.
Eg is Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the cauvery issue.
The DMK,AIADMK etc and stoke up sentiments and get votes on such issue, but then Congress/BJP cant do the same as it is present in both states. If it supports Tamil cause, it will lose in Karnataka and vice versa.
But the regional parties then garner enough seats in national elections and then cause all the problems. Maybe the constitution should be amended in such a way that the regional parties can fight only the local elections but not national. So that will eliminate these small parties extracting their pound of flesh in the national scene.
The reverse could also be proportionately true.In single or dual party system,the parties are more likely to pander to the interest of the dominant ethnic-caste or class groups of the population.The congress has long been accused of pandering to the Hindi heartland.proportionately BJP has been accused of pandering to the Hindus.

Single/dual system might work in a more homogeneous society.India is a union of states and the people of the sates need their issues to be represented and addressed.National parties,based on evidence have merely brushed regional issues like Cauvery,under the carpet and allowed it to fester.

There is no doubt that regional issues have made to the national stage during the period of dominance of regional parties,this merely reflects the fact that national parties have neglected issues of importance in these regions,for the sake expediency or sheer disinterest

couldn't 't this be considered positive
 

Yusuf

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So its all about the system overhaul isnt it. We have to find a way to keep political stability. Get rid of the small parties playing a role at the national level, but then also have a say a ministry of regional affairs or something dedicated to taking care of all problems that exists between the states.
Also no state party so far has been able to do anything for their region. the DMK and the AIADMK have been coalition partners at the center but the cauvery issue remains unresolved. So its not necessary that the regional parties will get what they want when they get to the center. The regional issue have become merely a vote gathering tool more than anything else.
 

S.A.T.A

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So its all about the system overhaul isnt it. We have to find a way to keep political stability. Get rid of the small parties playing a role at the national level, but then also have a say a ministry of regional affairs or something dedicated to taking care of all problems that exists between the states.
Also no state party so far has been able to do anything for their region. the DMK and the AIADMK have been coalition partners at the center but the cauvery issue remains unresolved. So its not necessary that the regional parties will get what they want when they get to the center. The regional issue have become merely a vote gathering tool more than anything else.
Recipe for pure disaster friend.you are looking at the regional parties in isolation from the regions and its people.Regional parties exist and are a power to reckon with,largely because people have made them so.How can you rid the regional parties unless you understand their raison detre,the people of various regions did not feel that the traditional national party/parties represent their interests at the national level............

Mere tokenism,that the congress used to adopt,will not mitigate this perception.The only way national parties can make inroad here is to address the issues of development and growth and justice and make a better case for themselves against their regional rivals.

Infact this problem is not restricted to TN or Karnataka,the so called national parties like Congress or BJP,barely survive in states like UP or Bihar or WB

This is like a good wake up call for the national parties,if you want to be a truly national party strengthen your grassroot politics and give voice to genuine regional leadership.....


There exists no legitimate grounds upon which to abolish regional parties.you have to fight them on the issues.
 

Yusuf

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Maybe we can change the name of this thread to Discussion on Indian Political System.

I am an ardent supporter of the two party, presidential form of government with two houses as in the US.
I list the following benefits.

1) Elect a popular leader directly. No jostling for the top job.
2) Elect lawmakers for a fixed term for both houses. The benefit of this one is immense.
This will ensure only those who are genuinely interested in politics will fight elections. Since the house is only of law makers who will not be any ministers or anything, it will do away with criminals wanting to join politics or those who jostle for ministerial berths. No horse trading, no outside support etc
Stability as it will be a fixed term house.

3) Their are no ministers etc. As in the US, there are secretaries for all pots who are not necessarily political entities. You can have professionals as the secretaries. eg have a retired General or someone as Defense secretary. Who better to understand the needs of the armed forces better? Similarly for other posts. This will ensure good governance and also justice to various posts.
Also as the politicians know they cant be ministers, again only those who are genuinely interested in politics will fight elections.
 

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" Maybe we can change the name of this thread to Discussion on Indian Political System."

Thats a good idea.

At least Advani ji is thinking of something new, thats a good start in itself.
 

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I am an ardent supporter of the two party, presidential form of government with two houses as in the US.
Bhai - there are more than two contenders in the US Presidential elections. Infact there were half a dozen candidates!
 

Yusuf

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Yes I am aware of that, but only two parties hold sway.
 

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Meaning it's the people who have to make the choice, Until they're not we just have to wait. There is a very good reason why people won't vote for national parties all the time, and all the places. We must study these reasons.

The pitfall for many has been that they abandon the study with a sweeping condescension of the poor and rural - 'they don't know to vote' ' they vote for populism' 'if the educated vote more India would be a better place'.

You can almost smell the contempt for Mayawati in the English media. But Mayawati exists for a very good reason - a constituency no other party was serious about addressing. She does and so does get the vote. No complains!
 

Known_Unknown

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I dislike a two party system, and I hope it is not implemented in India. Not that it will be possible now anyway, since the smaller parties occupy a large chunk of the seats in Parliament, so any such Act will never be passed as long as they're around. But even for the sake of a theoretical discussion, a two party system in a country as vast and diverse as India would be a mockery of democracy itself. In the US, the two party system exists because of the collusion between the two main parties decades ago in passing laws that makes it difficult, if not impossible for any new parties to rise from the populace. Two is the minimum number to appear a democracy, any less and it would be a dictatorship, hence the US has two parties. I think of it as a two party dictatorship.

As for India, it is more diverse a country than any western democracy. It is more like the EU. If every state in your country has a different language, culture etc, then you will have as many parties as you have states at the bare minimum. A DMK MP cannot represent a Marathi, and a Shiv Sena MP cannot represent a Punjabi. Pan-indian parties like the Congress and BJP have tried, and failed to completely overcome these linguistic and cultural barriers. So forcing a change is not the right way to go.
 

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