criminalization of politics

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1. WHAT IS CRIMINALIZATION OF POLITICS The criminalization of politics means the participation of criminals in politics which includes that criminals can contest in the elections and get elected as members of the Parliament and the State legislature. It takes place primarily due to the nexus between politicians and criminals. School of Law 1

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3. WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR CRIMINALIZATION FOR POLITICS Lack of Enforcement : Several laws and court judgments have not helped much, due to the lack of enforcement of laws and judgments. Vested Interests : Publishing of the entire criminal history of candidates fielded by political parties may not be very effective, as a major chunk of voters tend to vote through a narrow prism of community interests like caste or religion School of Law 3

4. Muscle Power and Corruption : Use of muscle power by politicians to collect votes in their favour . Also, the use of money and other freebies in form of cash and kind both affect the final results of the election to a large extent. Model Code of Conduct : Its blatant violation is seen in almost all elections. Limited Awareness : Making voters aware of candidates with criminal antecedents has its limitations. Lack of Governance : The SC’s orders or other legal mechanisms are not fully followed thereby creating an anarchic environment in the country. Law breakers end up becoming law makers. Polarisation Towards Caste/Religions : People still go by the caste system and favour candidates on its basis instead of considering the actual background of the candidate School of Law 4

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7. Effects of political criminalization Against the Principle of Free and Fair Election: It limits the choice of voters to elect a suitable candidate. It is against the ethos of free and fair election which is the bedrock of a democracy. Affecting Good Governance : The major problem is that the law-breakers become law-makers, this affects the efficacy of the democratic process in delivering good governance. These unhealthy tendencies in the democratic system reflect a poor image of the nature of India’s state institutions and the quality of its elected representatives. Affecting Integrity of Public Servants: It also leads to increased circulation of black money during and after elections, which in turn increases corruption in society and affects the working of public servants. School of Law 7

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9. why in news Supreme Court has asked the Centre whether it was “willing” to favor a lifetime ban on contesting elections for people convicted of offences. Government has rejected the idea of a lifetime ban on convicted persons contesting elections or becoming an office-bearer of a political party citing reason that MPs and MLAs were not bound by specific “service conditions”. The government had maintained that disqualification under the Representation of the People Act of 1951 for the period of prison sentence and six years thereafter was enough for legislators. School of Law 9

10. CONCLUSION The increasing criminalization of politics and corruption hits the root of democracy. For regulating the affairs of the political party, it is essential to have a cleaner electoral process. Therefore, the electoral process is essential to strengthening the election commission. The publication of criminal records of the person who is contesting the election must be in such a manner that it is easily available to the general public, not on the party website because in rural areas most people don’t know the uses of the internet properly. School of Law 10

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