Right to Recall
This article examines the proposal to amend the Representation of People Act, 1951 in such a way that it allows voters to recall the elected MPs/ MLAs if people are not satisfied by their conduct.
The Representation of People Act, 1951 was enacted in 1951 under Article 327 of the Constitution to provide for the conduct of free and fair elections of the Houses of Parliament and State legislatures; deal with the qualifications and disqualifications for membership; keeping check on the corrupt practices and other such offences and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections. This law has been amended for several times to make it suitable as per changing circumstances.
The recent bill to amend this law yet again was a private bill proposed by Lok Sabha MP Varun Gandhi. This amendment bill proposes to implement the ‘Right to recall’ by which the process can be initiated by any voter of the constituency by filing a petition before the Speaker and which is signed by at least one fourth of the total number of electors.
Analysis
This issue should be analyzed in the light of the below questions:
- What is right to recall and has this been implemented elsewhere in India and world?
- What are Pros and cons of such right?
- Make a critical analysis of any such law.
What is right to recall and has this been implemented elsewhere in India and world?
Under Right to Recall, the electorate has the power to remove the elected officials before the expiry of their usual term. Thus, recall confers on the electorate the power to actually ‘de-elect’ their representatives from the legislature through a direct vote initiated when a minimum number of voters registered in the electoral role sign a petition to recall. Several European countries have implemented the Right to recall with good effect. The move would enhance the elected accountability of the elected representative and would lead to more transparency.
However, India does not have such provision to recall except in certain states like Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh, where people have the right to recall their representatives in local bodies.
What are pros and cons of such right?
Everything has its pros and cons with it and so does this bill. The proponents of the Right to recall will try to establish that if an individual has the power ‘elect’ a representative, then he should also be given the liberty to ‘recall’ the same. Such a system in long term would infuse a ‘greater accountability’ in the system. Additionally, a few advocates of recall would see it as a chance to correct their wrong choices without waiting for the following five years.
The other side of the coin is that right to recall can lead to excessive democracy which would lower down the amount of independence of representatives due to the perpetual threat of being recalled and to deal with this and to escape a recall the representatives will have to always keep their electorates happy, which would force these representatives to succumb to the pressure and this would inevitably daunt the representatives from using their own judgment. Such system would lead to tying up of representatives to their electorates and is inherently injurious to the larger public interest and should be avoided.
Make a critical analysis of any such law.
India is unfortunately suffering from irresponsible unethical approach of the legislators who are chosen by the people. There have been various instances where the elected representative has not even visited the constituency from where he has been chosen, after the elections. This is a serious concern and in the wake of this concern, there has been a wide-spread demand to have a right to recall or a right to de-elect our elected representatives.
Therefore, the amendment bill proposed by Mr. Gandhi is a great step. This bill would put power back into the hands of the people which is the cornerstone of our democracy. The right to recall would be welcomed by the public as they are also fed up of the manner of conduction of parliamentary proceedings where everything apart from the real business is transacted. Although, the proposal will be opposed by many in political arena not go down too well with many in the political establishment. But this idea should be debated and discussed both in Parliament and civil society forums and there should be consideration of this proposal by the Parliament.
Having a recall framework in India would not just make superfluous mayhem because of recurring recall election, but also would destabilize the legislature. Recall in a nation like India would be extremely helpless against manhandle by persuasive political gatherings and would give us those crooks as our pioneers who could utilize solid outfitted strategies to keep was practiced in their favour. Leaving regardless of these inquiries, there is dependably an issue of practicability of directing a review which would include huge measures of money, labor, and time and so on. But the initiative has to be taken someday then this is the best time to do so. The ministers derive authority from the general population, so the general population ought to have the privilege to recall the legislators. It brings about more prominent responsibility since the legislators can’t underestimate his post and may need to remain over his toes unsurpassed round. It authorizes qualities and morals, and can likewise be a significant keep an eye on defilement, and can be utilized to screen the conduct of the lawmakers.
