Section 49-O....Voting provision only for accounting

Here's some bad news for people who were counting on the Section 49-O provision to voice their unhappiness towards incapable / criminal / corrupt candidates contesting for election in any constituency.

Got to know that the entire provision is only for accounting purpose in case a person doesn't want to vote nor wants any bogus voting to be done on his behalf. So if you opt for this provision, your vote is as good as waste or as not having voted at all!

But can't we have a laws or provisions which the majority of the people in India support? We can have a movement and bring a change. After all we are a democracy and any party elected by the people is actually representing us and our needs. If we were happy to even read about such a law/ provision, can't we all work towards having it in place?

We all blame the government, the political parties and the ministers, but fail to exercise our rights as citizens of the nation. There are so many things we can change ourselves. We can bring changes by working towards it. We elect the government and relax and abuse them till they are in power. Instead, we should make them accountable. Groups / organisations / party offices, which inspect the progress/ change brought about by an MLA / MP should be set up. Citizens of the area should have representives in the group and make a list of demands or changes required in the area and put it up to the MLA and keep ensuring that some action is being taken on the same. This is the way corruption can be fought. It reminds me of Chandrababu Naidu's policy, where he called his party, 'the Company' and himself the CEO. The MLAs were the Managers and the party workers, the staff. And just like every employee is accountable to the company for his actions, the Managers and workers should be made accountable. After all they are getting paid for it.

Even after the 1993 riots in Mumbai, the situation was really bad. People were scared and had started distrusting each other. I remember suddenly having some Hindu friends ignoring or avoiding me then. But immediately afterwards, the police with the help of the locals in highly volatile areas set up the 'Mohalla committees', with members of Hindu-Muslim and other community representatives of a locality affliated to the local police station of the area. These committees started celebrating all festivals of all religions together. Most of the times, the Officer-in-charge of the police station was the chief guest. These Mohalla Committees were a hit and they also brought back faith in the police and trust within the different religions in the area. And to date, in those areas there have not been any major communal violence. The Mohalla committees still function in many 'once' communal violence-prone areas.

Its pathetic when even the youth of the country just sit and voice their concerns and then go casually about their lives. The 26/11 incident was an eye opener for us all. It woke up the nation. People started making themselves aware of the laws, provisions. In short people wanted a change. But just shouting and making speeches and having gatherings and rallies is not the only solution. We should ask for positive changes. And work in groups towards achieving it.

We need new laws wherever old ones are hampering our progress and acting as deterrents towards the country's security, economy and future.