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EDITORIAL
Amma
In Exile
The EC's
ruling is only the first step in depolluting democracy
In debarring J.
Jayalalitha from contesting the assembly election
in Tamil Nadu, the Election Commission (EC) has drawn a Plimsoll line
for Indian democracy. This is the first significant case of an indicted
politician being removed from the electoral ambit. The imperious AIADMK
general secretary had been convicted in a land fraud case. While an appeal
is being heard before the Madras High Court and her three-year prison
sentence has been put in abeyance, there is no clear "stay order"
on her conviction. As such, going by its 1997 ruling that no "convicted
criminal" will be allowed to stand for election, the EC has rejected
Jayalalitha's nomination papers. An explicit rendering of events is relevant
because of the precedent that has been set. Democracy is not chemistry,
governed by immutable laws. Much of its conduct flows from conventions.
A hung Lok Sabha, for instance, opens n number of doors for the President.
R. Venkataraman's decision in 1989 to go to the single-largest party has
now become the accepted course.
 The
EC's "Jayalalitha judgement" is of similar import. Henceforth
anybody convicted-and unable to convince a high court that a stay is prima
facie justifiable-is an electoral outlaw. Being named in a mere chargesheet
will not be enough and waiting for a "final conviction"-one
that is not appealed against or is upheld by the Supreme Court-will not
be deemed necessary. These old chestnuts have been put to rest. True,
some will look askance at the paradox of numerous scandal-tainted politicians
seeking votes for themselves, while Jayalalitha is denied her chance.
They will argue that the lady's only fault was that she got caught. The
fact is, aspiring legislators who may be legally right but morally not
quite so are the responsibility of political parties. The EC cannot be
solely responsible for deworming democracy. The party system needs its
own code of corporate governance.
Barren Barons
Few believe the Government.
But fewer, the sports administrators.
As an idea, the
Afro-Asian Games is as outdated as Third world solidarity and South-South
cooperation. It was mooted just after the success of the 1982 Asian Games,
which changed Delhi's geography and political economy. Salivating at the
thought of a sequel, the Congress regime resolved to inaugurate the Afro-Asian
Games on November 19, 1983, the anniversary of the Asiad. Now the Indian
Olympic Association (IOA) plans to host the first Afro-Asian Games in
November 2001, a mere 18 years too late. Nobody expects the Games to revolutionise
Indian sport. The IOA's president and vice-president-Congress MP Suresh
Kalmadi and BJP MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra-are locked in a battle for the
organising committee. By the IOA's own calculations the government will
have to spend Rs 75 crore on the Games. Others treble the figure. The
association was given numerous tax sops in the 2000-01 budget. If Kalmadi
is so certain of success-and are demanding Rs 10 crore from Doordarshan
for TV rights-why can't they cock a snook at the state and mobilise adequate
sponsorship?
 The
IOA is not alone in its cussedness. The Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) has made the dramatically fatuous announcement that it will
withdraw from the next World Cup. It has decided to interpret the Sports
Ministry's directive that it avoid matches at "irregular" venues
like Sharjah-a view the International Cricket Council shares-as lack of
permission to take part in any multi-nation tournament. That the BCCI
faces a tax evasion inquiry is, of course, incidental. It is easy and
often justifiable to criticise the government in this country. It says
something for the IOA and the BCCI if they lack even the credibility to
make their case believable.
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