Campaign Finance Reforms in India: Issues and Challenges

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Campaign Finance Reforms in India: Issues and Challenges politically do things change. If the DMK lost the elections in Tamil Nadu, it was not that it did not have access to money. Here also newspaper vendors threw money to the tune of ` 5000/- with the morning paper. But DMK candidates lost. Ultimately, when people begin to have respect for themselves and resent the idea they can be bought, they react differently. This is exactly what happened in Tamil Nadu. There was a time when people could be bought with money. But beyond a point people say they have had enough, and that is happening all across the country right now. It is an overall process of maturing of politics; people's own sense of self-worth and awareness of their rights have ultimately changed things. I think that is actually happening and these are all various ways of crystallising and institutionalising the urge for basic self-empowerment of the people. Without that you can do nothing. Hopefully, there are signs that this is actually crystallizing. Mr. Mendiratta: What is needed now? The need is for stringent laws. But who will make the laws? Why should parliamentarians make a law that would go against them? Why should they do it? That is the difficulty. Unless there is some public pressure for them to do some thing, they won't do anything. Participant: Lack of political will. Mr. Mendiratta: No, I won't say political will. There is unanimity of political will because they don't want to do anything. Participant: I totally agree with that. In fact, State-funding is actually the only clause in the entire electoral reforms on which there is political will among political parties. You have every political party saying this is something which if done would be very good. For everything else, they are just saying this has that problem, that has this problem, etc. At least Mr. Rudy was very honest in saying that nothing is going to happen and if there is some public pressure where people raise a hue and cry, maybe things will happen. But otherwise we are going www.orfonline.org 41
ORF Seminar Series to continue as in the past. We can debate and do a whole lot of things, Sir, but until they agree and do something about it, nothing is going to happen. Chair: I think we will bring the seminar to a close. ********************* Samya Chatterjee is a Research Assistant and Niranjan Sahoo a Senior Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. 42 www.orfonline.org
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Campaign Finance Reforms in India: Issues and Challenges

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