The Supreme Court verdict upholding the High Court judgement and also reprimanding the State government over giving additional charge of State Election Commissioner to an in-service bureaucrat is another watershed moment in an already tainted political template of Goa. The State government’s manipulative ways of tampering with constitutional provisions of electoral processes lay exposed. Indeed, democracy has been restored, now.
Goa continues to set new benchmarks in political machinations. If the State’s political class has taught India the art of devious defections, there’s another ruling that has nation-wide ramifications where the court shot down the government’s recent manoeuvre of tampering with the civic electoral process in partnership with the SEC, a constitutional and autonomous authority which is supposed to conduct elections in all its fairness and maintain decorum in the true spirit of democracy.
It’s disgrace that a conscious attempt was made to rig an electoral process and gain an unfair advantage despite the contrasting figures on record and the SEC admission of errors before the High Court. The verdict is a huge step towards restoring the independence and credibility of the State Election Commission and will go a long way into debunking the misconception that courts cannot meddle with electoral processes, an argument that the Goa government raised before the top court.
The government has been caught on the wrong foot, but the Law Secretary is an equal partner in this crime and cannot absolve himself of this breach. A bureaucrat, more especially to the rank of an IAS, should be an advisor to political masters, rather than succumb to compromises, and act as a political slave. How could the Law Secretary head an independent body like SEC, and yet show neutrality? The biases were clear as daylight, and the SEC’s reluctance to crack the whip on code violations was showing. We still don’t understand the hurry with which the election schedules were announced on two occasions.
The State BJP President, Sadanand Shet Tanavade’s assertion that the court verdict will not affect the party’s prospects only shows that the party has no remorse or humility. The political ambition has been visibly overwhelming going by the fact that even an interim order of the top court was construed as a victory by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. It’s been all about political egos, votes and winning elections.
The poll process in five municipalities of Margao, Mormugao, Mapusa, Sanguem and Quepem will begin afresh, and soon the SEC would get an independent commissioner, but the shoddy intentions of winning elections through unfair means have deeply scared the election template.
The spirit of democracy and constitutional values has been upheld by the apex court. Also, the confidence of the common man, the underprivileged and the helpless has been restored. And above all, a willful wrong has been set right. We only hope that lessons will be learnt, not only by the government but also the election body which forms the backbone of any fair electoral exercise. Let there be a level playing field.
