Everybody knew that no body can take part in elections in this country if he is not blessed with money galore. The recently held Senate elections have once again proved,if any proof was required, that money plays an important part in elections to parliament as many persons became senators on the strength of money used by them for buying votes. Their only qualification was that they were ultra rich. What is pitiable is the fact that even those persons managed to get a berth into the upper house against whom criminal mega corruption cases are sub judice in courts with strong incriminating evidence. It seems that the present electoral system suits all the political parties as no one amongst them has shown any zealousness to remove many drawbacks that pockmark it.
If what has happened in the senate elections is to be seen as a precedent, where money changed hands on a vast scale,what is the guarantee that gerrymandering won’t take place in the ensuing elections which are round the corner?If the Election Commission could not put a brake on the corrupt practices in the senate’s election ,can it be expected from it that it will come down with a heavy hand on those who are going to flout the election rules in the general elections which are now a few days away?
This being the ground reality the argument that vote is sacrosanct does not cut much ice with the man in the street. Nobody is going to buy the argument of some politicians that parliament stands supreme than other state institutions of the country. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has a point there when he says that parliamentarians should first of all establish their credentials through their conduct instead of making empty boasting that they are cut above than the other state institutions in morality or honesty.
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