Some of the Changes I thought of

The response to my first post encourages me to write more. All I want to do is set your minds thinking. One of my friends actually thought of writing his own blog after reading mine. Well, that is encouragement enough. Thank you all for reading my first post.
Let us face it, when we talk of change, we are talking of an upheaval of over 60 years of lethargy and apathy that has set in the system. And bringing about change isn't as easy as a military ruler either. The army is an arm of self defence, and it will only protect the constitution, not disregard it. So our basic constraint to bring about the kind of political rennaissance that we need today is to work within thee frameworks of democracy and uphold the basic principles of the constitution.

1. Basics first. A degree of graduation should be mandatory for any candidate contesting the elections. No previous criminal records and a declaration of financial assets (the latter already exists). If there is a lower age limit for candidates, then there should be an upper age limit too. Gone are the days when age=experience=capability. New Dehli shold take a leaf out of corporate India where nothing except ability=capability.
2. A two party political system. We donot want innumerable regional parties, coalition politics, or a day when Mayawati can call herself the next Prime Minister.
3. An extension of point 2, I have an entire procedure in mind. (I have learnt of this from a very learned and experienced professor of Law who had contributed for the Constitution Reammendment Committee. It is something that had been recommended to then President K. R. Narayanan but was never implemented.) If there are more than 2 candidates contesting from any constituency (most likely scenario in our country) , then generally the one who wins has't been voted by the majority. It is just that the vote of the majority was divided and hence, a particular candidate, who had the most votes (not necessarily the majority of votes) wins. In the recommended system, the first phase of elections takes place between all the candidates, then the second phase takes place between the top 2 candidates. Hence, the majority vote counts here. Not a fool proof method, yet it is worth considering.
4. A prime ministerial debate on the lines of the presidential debate. Here, the two parties shall field a candidate each as the nominee before the assembly elections, and they shall debate on their policies on law and order, health, education, finance, defence, etc. If a prime ministerial debate is too much to ask for, we can at least demand the stand on each of these portfolios from the candidates of our constituencies. We should be given the chance to make an informed choice.
5. Lastly(because of the lack of space, not because of a dearth of ideas) a referendum from the public on all important bills that are to be passed in the Lok Sabha. The reservation controversy may not have happened if the people were allowed to decide.

Signing off for now, waiting for your comments on these points.

Negative Voting

I realised people had not heard about this concept of "protest vote" or "negative vote".
Here's how:
49(0) - Caste your vote for no one
Rule No. 49(O) in the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 says:
"Elector deciding not to vote - If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form 17 A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer, and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark."

Steps for doing this :
1. while registering the name at the time of voting, convey to the booth officials that you want to go for 49'O.
2. Fill the 49'O form available there.

If the number of 49'O count is larger than that of the winning candidate's total vote count, then a re-election is called there.

Mumbai unplugged

It is exactly 1 week since the terrorists opened fire at CST and went on to take not only Mumbai, but the entire moderate ideology hostage. Hundreds lost their lives; but the casualties included the death of the political apathy of the man on the streets.

He rose from his daily dose of chatting over a cup of tea about the problems the country faces, to protest against the ineptitude and impotency of the lawmakers sitting in their safe havens in the national capital. People were out on the streets in the metros- especially in Mumbai right opposite the epicentre of the 26/11 terror attacks. Some radical, some pacifist, some channelised, some wild, everyone had views that they wanted to express. And predictably, the media was in a frenzy to cover an unprecedented public outrage, the first when all classes of the society were out to lash the politicians, whether of the ruling parties or those of the opposition.

But, there is a word of caution here.
Donot forget this anger. Because steam when let out all at a time leaves a vacuum inside later. Because the fire should continue burning till there is a change. Channelise this anger into proactiveness. Street marches are fine. But come out in the same numbers to vote in elections 2009.

PLEASE DONOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF BOYCOTTING THE ELECTIONS. IF YOU DONOT EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE, SOMEONE ELSE WILL CASTE YOUR VOTE.
By not voting you will only ensure that the next government will be even worse than the present.

INSTEAD, IF YOU REALLY THINK THAT NONE OF THE CANDIDATES ARE WORTHY OF YOUR PRECIOUS VOTE (WHICH IS MOST LIKELY), THEN REGISTER A PROTEST VOTE.
Ask the presiding officer at your election centre to register your vote in favour of none of the candidates. If all voters make use of the protest vote, the politicians will realise that the REAL INDIA (yes, the one with lipstick and powder on its face) is unsatisfied. And to attain a position of previlege, they will have to serve the people- not themselves.

One last thought.
If the government is inept at carrying out its duties, nobody is to blame, but us- the people who voted them into power. The politicians are the result of our own apathy, lethargy and complete indifference towards political proactiveness by chosing to vote (or not vote) in the wrong kind of people in the Parliament.

Not Just a Blog.

Why am i writing this blog??
I talk a lot about a lot of things. I have strong political views. I want to make a difference and I don't know how. It's time I reach out to the community with my opinions on the world of politics and the politics of the world.. The least I can do is write them down for other people to read, think,contemplate, introspect, act..
I promise I shall not be neutral. This is not a direct report of news, but an impassioned account of how the news touched me, how it shall affect the community, and what we can do about it.
C9omments shall not only be appreciated but are recommended. This thread is intended to be a discussion, a movement-not just a blog.