Democracy is the best and an ideal form of government,paving the way for governance through the representatives of the people and in the process any one, who has the talent and capacity, who aspires to become the part of the government machinary,can scale to any height and be at the helm of affairs, as was the case of Abraham Lincoln in the US, who became the President of US, hailing from a humble beginning.
But in India, democracy, that began well in the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, gradually drifted and increasingly gets degenerated.In Tamil Nadu,Kamaraj and then Bakthavatchalam were the Chief Ministers known for their clean, efficient and corruption-free administration Two notable ministers in the yester years of Tamil Nadu,Mr.Kakkan and Mr.Bhuvaragan were known for their simplicity,honesty and integrity when they had been the ministers of Tamil Nadu.When they lost the general elections in the year 1967,both of them travelled in town busses just like ordinary citizens and took medical treatment in the general hospitals along with common people.But, after 1967, both in Tamil Nadu and in India in general, democracy had got rapidly degenerated.
The machinaries or the tools of democracy, through which it manifests itself is the party system and elections etc.Power mongers,who managed to capture power by manipulating and winning the elections, in their bid to retain power,scoop to any level, justifying the political dictum, ‘power corrupts power,absolute power corrupts absolutely’.
India has got many acts like the ‘Peoples Representatives Act’and ‘Indian Citizeship Act’etc and the constitutional machinaries or statutory bodies like the Election Commission of India etc to periodically announce,conduct and supervise the elections in India.But what we cannot understand, perhaps digest and of course go unnoticed by the Election Commission of India, is the role of black money that is playing a clear degenerating role during elections in India.We hear that during elections,alliances are formed among parties by exchanging a few crores of rupees in order to win a good bargain and clinch the deal of getting more seats.
During elections, though parties call for applications from the aspiring contestants, it is not easy for a common man despite of having all the credentials to become an MLA or MP, to get a seat from a party.Only money is the cretaria.For example,a regional party in Tamil Nadu calling for applications from the prospective contestants during an assembly election,short list the candidates who are capable of mobilising a minium sum of Rs 30,00,000/-and ready to deposit with the party.Only from those aspirants who have deposited Rs 30,00,000/-, the final contestant is chosen.One may ask is there not any ceiling imposed by the election commission for the amount to be spent during an election.Of course, there is a ceiling and model code of conduct etc at the instance of the election commission.Still the parties manage to floute them at their will, by installing an ‘amicable’ election officer at the state level and by indulging in all sorts of ‘behind the scene’activities.For example in the recently held by-election in Madurai,Tamil Nadu,in the year 2007, the contestant of a political party is said to have paid ‘Rs 1,500/-‘to each voter, to secure his vote.In the absence of any complaint, the election commission prompltly announces the result of a candidate who has managed to win the elections by purchasing votes.A common man simply gaps when he hear that crores of rupees are being spent by the political parties to win a ‘b(u)y-election’