Communal campaigns

Sir, - This has reference to the news report ``Bring communal campaigns under election laws'' (TheHindu, Jan. 24). It is a sad comment on the democratic credentials of our leaders to see that even 50 years after our country being declared a Republic, responsible institutions like the All India Catholic Union (AICU), the All India Christian Council (AICC) and the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) are forced to ask the Election Commission to ensure that the ``hate campaigns and communal rantings of front and `sister' organisations of some political parties be brought within the purview of election laws and made an election malpractice.''

The ease with which communal campaigns are undertaken and the difficulty in enforcing the rule of law points towards a glaring loophole in the accountability process of our system. The executive, the legislature, the judiciary as well as the media are finely tuned and are functioning well in their own right. Indeed we have been able to preserve our democratic setup because it was based on sound fundamentals and at least one form of accountability was ensured - that of the universal adult franchise. Other than the legislature, all the other three arms of the democracy have now ceased to be accountable. Lack of transparency in the functioning of our government, and failure to bring the guilty to book have led to the present sorry state.

A lot needs to be done to set things straight. We could start with the lobbying and pressure groups to nudge the government to pass the Right to Information Bill, and undiluted form of the Lok Pal Bill. Hopefully after these initiatives, the common man may come to realise his rights and the duties of those elected by him.

S. S. Abbas,

Aligarh

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