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Catching Seshanitis

IT IS HARDLY a secret that the Chief Election Commissioner, J.M. Lyngdoh, is no admirer of the country's political class. His blunt manner and his plain-speaking ways have raised the hackles of politicians across the ideological divide. But Mr. Lyngdoh's recent remarks in a television interview to the BBC — in which he likened politicians to a "cancer for which there is no cure" — were extraordinary even by his unusually outspoken standards. Many sections of the political community have let the country down badly and deserve to be criticised on a number of counts. However, Mr. Lyngdoh's broadside against politicians was so sweeping that it bordered on absurdity. For instance, he made an over the top assertion that there was not a single politician in the country who was committed to democracy and the public welfare. Such hyperbole was reflected in other remarks about politicians who the CEC felt either have "their noses stuck in the air" or are "prostrate at somebody's feet — there is nothing in between."

If Mr. Lyngdoh was a private citizen, he would be guilty of little more than gross exaggeration. As a constitutional functionary, he must be held accountable for the sobriety and propriety of his remarks. After all, the principal duty of the CEC is to ensure that free and fair elections are held in the country. While this involves being a check on the executive branch and on political parties and politicians before and during elections, his responsibilities do not extend to berating the community of politicians, delivering high-sounding homilies, or acting as if he were the conscience keeper of the nation. As a member of the Election Commission under T.N. Seshan and M.S. Gill, Mr. Lyngdoh was appreciated for keeping a studiously low profile. However, as he nears the end of his term as CEC, he seems to have disregarded the need for restraint, in speech and action, that is demanded by his constitutional office. It is hardly surprising that unflattering parallels are now being drawn between Mr. Lyngdoh and Mr. Seshan. Although it was Mr. Seshan's initial activism that demonstrated that the Election Commission was not a toothless body and that it could play a vigorous role in ensuring free and fair elections, the latter part of his tenure was marked by angry sound bites against politicians and behaviour that was markedly confrontationist.

The job of the CEC requires impartiality, independence and firmness — qualities that can be brought into play without the use of intemperate language and hot-headed behaviour. The work done by Mr. Lyngdoh during the 2002 Gujarat Assembly election received widespread appreciation, but his public abuse of a State Government official as a "joker" struck an arrogantly jarring note. More recently, the Chief Election Commissioner over-reacted by threatening to derecognise the Congress party over the alleged misuse of State Government aircraft in Chhattisgarh and Punjab. Politician-bashing may win plaudits among the urban middle classes but is bad for a democracy since it breeds, and adds to the stock of, cynicism about public life. Mr. Seshan became something of a middle class hero when he challenged politicians and heaped scorn on them through a string of derisive one-liners. The temptation to play to the gallery and grab headlines has led other public figures — a judge here and a Chief Vigilance Commissioner there — to deride the political class. At one level, this phenomenon reflects the depth of the country's disaffection with the polity and the state of governance. At another level, it reflects the lack of restraint among some personages who enjoy certain immunities under the law and their failure to recognise that the political community, whatever its flaws and weaknesses, is the bedrock of any democracy. The Election Commission has done a commendable job over the past 13 years but its members must have themselves inoculated against Seshanitis, which now seems to afflict Mr. Lyngdoh.

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