Unabashed Criminalization Of Politics Goes Unabated

Again the issue of banning politicians with criminal records from being elected to the Union Parliament or State Legislatures or local self-governments has cropped up. And as always, there are not any visible concrete signs for framing a comprehensive law in this regard. Article 311 providing constitutional guarantee against arbitrary and vindictive action has allowed criminals a free entry into politics. How on earth can someone still in custody like Pappu Yadav get 'special permission' form the courts to take oath as a Lok Sabha MP? Of course, it has judicial sanction. But how is then the citizen's liberty safeguarded in a sovereign democratic republic like India? The way the issue stands now it seems that it is really a tough ask for the multi-party coalition government to arrive at a consensus to plug the glaring loopholes of the existing law. That is a fallacy of democracy as practised in India.