Press Releases Archive

Shut 'belt shops', Lok Satta Urges Election Commission

The Lok Satta Party has requested the Election Commission of India to ensure that unauthorized liquor outlets in Andhra Pradesh are shut down immediately in the interest of free and fair electioneering.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan pointed out that there are more than one lakh illegal liquor outlets, known as belt shops, in Andhra Pradesh rendering ‘24/7 service’ to addicts and neophytes.

"If Andhra Pradesh is flowing with liquor and not ‘milk and honey’, the dubious credit goes to successive Governments", which have fine-tuned the policies in such a way that Government coffers overflow with revenue from excise and sales tax. "By bidding to pay a license fee of more than a crore of rupees for each shop, the operators try every trick in the trade to maximize their revenue. After all, they have to recoup the huge investments besides the hush money they pay to officials and politicians. The offshoot is the word ‘belt shop’, Andhra Pradesh’s contribution to the contemporary lexicon."

Dr. JP told the Election Commission that despite repeated agitations and representations by women's organizations and others against belt shops, the Government would not act because it does not want to forgo its revenue, and officials and politicians their regular kickbacks. The Excise Department has the temerity to repeatedly assert that there are no unauthorized outlets. "They stretch the law to claim that having a dozen liquor bottles is not illegal, ignoring that the belt shop operators trade in small lots and that selling liquor is different from stocking a dozen bottles for personal consumption."

The Lok Satta President pointed out that vast quantities of liquor are consumed, mostly through these unauthorized and illegal belt shops during electioneering and on the eve of polls. "Needless to say, most of this liquor during electioneering is bought by the contesting candidates, and distributed freely for periods ranging from one week to four weeks. The first taste of liquor for most people is during elections."

Dr. JP said that the brazen practice of free liquor distribution is ruining the village society and economy and many youngsters are becoming addicts during elections.

He said that free distribution of liquor to voters during the period of electioneering is a corrupt electoral practice violating the code of conduct during elections. Dr. JP told the CEC that closure of licensed liquor shops for a limited period during elections served little purpose since the decision does not take cognizance of unauthorized outlets.

"We, therefore, urge you to direct the Andhra Pradesh Government to shut down all the unauthorized liquor outlets immediately. The District Election Offices and the election machinery directly under the control of the Election Commission may be entrusted with the closure of all unauthorized belt shops from now until the day of polling. This is in addition to closure of licensed liquor shops around polling time."

Pointing out that the election atmosphere in Andhra Pradesh is already highly charged with a number of parties determined to grab power at any cost, the Lok Satta President said he was concerned at liquor fueling the no-holds-barred election fights.

"We are not urging the Election Commission to do something out of the way and which is beyond its purview. All that we want is the enforcement of law both in letter and spirit to prevent the corrupt electoral practice of liquor distribution to voters as an inducement."

Friday, March 13, 2009 - 18:06

Lok Satta asks EC to discipline Parties baiting voters with TVs

The Lok Satta has urged the Election Commission of India “to intervene immediately and decisively” and discipline political parties indulging in “blatant inducements and corrupt electoral practices” like offering free color TV sets if elected to power.

In a letter to Mr. N. Gopalaswami, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, said, “Otherwise, public office may well become the preserve of the highest and most shameless bidder.”

Dr. JP drew the Election Commission’s attention to the Telugu Desam Party’s promise in its draft election manifesto to distribute color TV sets and said that if such tendencies were not checked by the Election Commission, “there can be even more brazen and egregious promises of, say, distribution of a gold necklace to every voter, or a scooter or automobile to every household or free liquor to every family.”

Dr. JP said: “Such material inducements unrelated to livelihoods, and promise of public expenditure outside a Government’s Constitutional responsibilities and the State’s legislative competence clearly constitute a corrupt electoral practice by any reasonable standards.”

Dr. JP pointed out that the state legislature can authorise expenditure only on subjects listed in List 2 and List 3 of the seventh schedule of the constitution. Anyother expenditure is unconstitutional. Parties are bound to make promises and governments are bound to incur expenditure or take decisions, within the bounds of the constitution. As per the Sec 29 A of R. Act 1951, the election commission has the obligation to ensure that Parties donot violate the constitution.

Party spokesmen Dr.P. Bhaskara Rao, Mrs. K. Gitamurthy released the text of Dr. JP’s letter to the CEC, to the media here today.

In his letter, Dr. JP pointed out that the Election Commission’s silence over the promise of color TV sets by the DMK in Tamil Nadu in the 2006 elections emboldened the Congress (I) to repeat the promise in the 2008 Karnataka Assembly elections. The Election Commission chose not to intervene despite a Lok Satta representation. In its reply to the Lok Satta, it sought to equate all poll promises without any distinction.

Dr. JP told the Election Commission that it could not ignore vital issues by invoking technicalities. “If Constitutional authorities hide behind technicalities, then the authority invested in them is futile. If the Election Commission now fails to act, it will soon lead to unconstitutional public expenditure and irresponsible and reckless populism all over India.”

The Lok Satta President said that in the absence of any law on unethical poll promises unrelated to Government’s Constitutional responsibilities, the Commission has the power and the duty to intervene.

“Political parties are completely justified in promising State-sponsored subsidies, benefits and packages that mitigate public suffering, promote livelihoods of the poor, help fulfill potential or support the weak and the vulnerable. For instance, promising subsidized rice to the truly poor and the hungry, State-sponsored homes to the homeless and the destitute or subsidized electricity to the already-indebted farmers are all legitimate poll promises made from time to time by political parties.

“A promise related to the Constitutional obligations of a Government, or in pursuance of the Directive Principles, can be construed as articulation of a legitimate public policy goal. But if an electoral promise is completely outside the sphere of a Government’s Constitutional responsibilities, then it is a clear, unambiguous and unethical inducement to voters, albeit with public money.”

Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 17:55

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