BHOPAL, APRIL 11. For the first time in the history of Indian democracy, the Madhya Pradesh voters exercised their right to recall and dethroned the president of Anuppur Nagar Panchayat in Shahadol district, Mrs. Pallavika Patel.
Reacting to the event, the Chief Minister, Mr. Digvijay Singh, said the Anuppur example would give a new direction to the country. Accountability was a must in a democracy and the right to recall would strengthen direct democracy in the State.
The State had given the right to recall in cases of directly elected mayors, presidents and sarpanchas in urban civic bodies and panchayats. Mr. Singh was also the first Chief Minister to decentralise powers at the grassroots level by holding panchayat elections as per the 73rd Constitutional amendment.
The counting of votes polled on Monday under the Right to Recall for Annuppur Nagar Panchayat was done yesterday. A total of 5519 votes were cast of which 3255 were in favour of the Empty Chair and only 1678 votes in favour of the Occupied Chair. Under the rules, if more than 50 per cent votes are cast in favour of the unoccupied chair, the present incumbent gets dethroned.
In Madhya Pradesh, the relevant laws have been amended for moving a no-confidence motion against mayors or presidents of urban civic bodies. Under the new dispensation, a resolution endorsed by three-fourths of the total number of elected corporators or councillors could be submitted to the Collector or Commissioner for the recall of the mayor or president. After verification, the resolution is forwarded to the State Government, which then refers the matter to the State Election Commission for holding polls for the recall of the mayor or president.
MPs and MLAs should be recalled within two years from being elected if 75% of those who voted for them are not satisfied with their performance, according to a bill moved by BJP MP Varun Gandhi.
“Logic and justice necessitate that if the people have the power to elect their representatives, they should also have the power to remove these representatives when they engage in misdeeds or fail to fulfil the duties,” Varun said.
Stating that the countries all over the world have experimented with the concept of Right to Recall, the Lok Sabha MP has proposed an amendment in the Representation of the People Act 1951 through his Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2016. As per the legislation, recalling process can be initiated by any voter of the constituency by filing a petition before the Speaker, signed by at least one-fourth of the total number of electors in that constituency.
After confirming its authenticity, the Speaker will move the application to the Election Commission for its verification and authentication of the voters’ signatures on it. The Commission will verify the signatures on it and will organise the voting on 10 places in the respective constituency of MP or MLA, it says.
If three-fourth of the votes that member was polled in his election, go in favour of the recall process, the member will be recalled, the bill proposes. Within 24 hours of the receipt of the result, the Speaker will notify the result to the general public. Once the seat gets duly vacated the Commission can organise a by-poll in that constituency.
“A free and fair election is the right of the citizens of the country and in the event of their elected representatives no longer enjoying their confidence, the people must have a right to remove them,” Varun said. It is on the edifice of accountability of politicians that the true idea of democracy can be achieved, he added. At present there is no recourse to the electorate if they are unhappy with their elected representative.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951 only provides for vacation of office upon the commission of certain offences and does not account for general incompetence or dissatisfaction of the electorate as a ground for vacation.
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