A Startling Discovery

"We were worried because the 'men' came through boat. We should rather be more worried for the men who come through our vote."

This is a line am quoting from the mail one of my friends sent me just yesterday. And the major portion of this post is also from that mail, which talks about an important yet comfortably invisible clause from our Constitution. 

As per a 1969 amendment in our Constitution, a section called '49 O' gives the right to a person to go to the polling booth during elections, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey to the presiding officer that he doesn't want to vote for any candidate!

The most obvious question one would then ask is, why should I take so much pain in going to the polling booth if am not going to vote for anyone in the first place? Well, that's the beauty of the act.  Suppose if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be cancelled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them. This means that if people decide unanimously that the candidate is not even fit for standing in the election, then they can act accordingly and further see that he doesn't even get to recontest on the same seat in the same election. 

This fantastic revelation immediately poses a question. Why is the public not intimated about this act from the Election Commission, when it is clear that such an act needs to be known to everyone in order to see that the right candidate gets chosen? Is it somekind of a trick that the politicans have played upon us, so that we do not ever get to know that there is another option at our disposal?

After the recent terror attacks on Mumbai, the Common Man has become quite vocal about everything, and we have been hearing many instances where the people do not shy away from expressing their angst at the politicians. My point is, isn't this section 49-O a better alternative than the cries of 'We won't vote at all' that we have been hearing from the masses? 

On another front, there has been reports that the Pakistani media has started accusing India of blaming Pakistan for the terror attack falsingly. But if seen objectively, and looking at the evidences, it is quite clear that the terrorists had definite links with Karachi. Then on what base is the Pakistan media even debating on this issue? They have gone so far so as to say that this attack is by an Indian agency.

But on the other hand, I went through a few posts by some Pakistan citizens on the terror attack, which can be viewed here. These people also have a point. They say that maybe the attack was staged in a way which would point towards the terrorist group's link with Pakistan, in order to increase the enmity between the two nations. On rational thinking, this can not be ruled out in entirety,when you consider the fact that the evidences that have been gathered from the attack are too damning. I mean, its like they want us to believe its Pakistan.

At this juncture, it's kinda hard to decide on who is actually behind it, with so many arguments pouring in form all corners. The point is, whoever it is, half of their purpose is already served, in having created terror in the nation. I just hope it was the end, and that there's no other half of their motive left, like letting the two nations battle it out in a gruesome war against each other, which might be the real end they want to achieve. Reading the posts of the Pakistani people, one more thing comes to mind, that not all Pakistanis are against India. It's the political situation that's probably making things worse. But the bottomline is, that it is the Indian Man who has suffered. And we need an answer, and fast. It's hightime the politics is set aside, and politicians start turning into real 'leaders'. Signing off on a confused and a hopeful note.