The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Cuddalore News : `Fixed tenure for government will avoid frequent polls'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 02, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Cuddalore

`Fixed tenure for government will avoid frequent polls'

By Our Special Correspondent

CUDDALORE, MAY 1. Speakers at an "Election forum" held in the Town Hall here today stressed that all voters should exercise their rights without fail in the Parliamentary elections, and see to it that an appropriate government was elected to power to avert the likelihood of a hung Parliament.

In the forum jointly organised by social service organisations, including the Electors' Awareness Movement and the Federation of the Consumer Organisations — Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry (FEDCOT), Bala Kandasamy said there must be fixed tenure for any elected government. This would ensure that the leaders enjoying power would not disband the government at their whims and fancies, and also act as a guarantee against frequent elections, squandering the exchequer. She said women voters outnumbered men, and yet their representation in the legislature was much less. It was the bounden duty of women to cast their votes to elect those who would be safeguarding their rights.

The president of the Traders' Association, Muthukumaran, said while the people were wary of selecting their dress and food, why should not they exercise caution before electing a candidate to power.

He deplored that due to lopsided economic policy, India had become market for multi-national companies, harming the domestic industry and trade.

The leader of the Tamil Nadu Government Officials' Union, Radhakrishnan, said as government officials and employees were deployed on election duty, they could not cast their votes. The procedure to get postal ballot was a cumbersome process, and by the time it was completed, they would be left with little time to discharge their responsibilities.

The former District Revenue Officer, Rajendran, wondered that when the population was on the rise, the number of voters in the State had come down from 4.77 to 4.27 crores.

The FEDCOT general secretary, M. Nizamudeen, said the voters should elect those who would provide social justice, food and job security.

The organiser of the World Social Forum, V. Sukumaran, said "globalisation was not compatible with democracy" as it was robbing rights to life. The chairman of the Lions Club, N.S. Ranganathan, said the voters must elect the candidates who would be working for their good.

The moderator, C.R. Lakshmikantan, suggested that for the sake of those who could not come to the polling stations, mobile polling stations could be arranged.

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`Fixed tenure for government will avoid frequent polls'