Allow free vote

Allow free vote

Government must back EC move to switch to cluster counting of votes.
India may be a fractious democracy where few institutions work, but one thing that keeps it thriving is that the integrity of its elections are beyond doubt. Credit for this should go to the Election Commission (EC), justly held in high regard throughout the country. Today, however, we have an odd situation with EC and government on opposite sides of a PIL in Supreme Court, where the issue at stake is reform to ensure that people can cast their vote fearlessly. The government, which opposes EC's reform, should revisit its position as democracy can only be robust if people can exercise their franchise freely without the threat of victimisation.
EC has recommended government amend relevant legislation to replace existing booth-wise counting with cluster counting of many polling booths taken together. The aim is to prevent political parties from identifying voting patterns at a granular level and punishing localities that have voted against it. Finance minister Arun Jaitley's last budget indicates that even corporates are essure, which is why their political donations vulnerable to such pressure, which is why their political donations can be made anonymously. Given this context, it is difficult to see how government can oppose EC's suggestion.
Government must acknowledge India's ground reality. All political parties have complained at different points that state institutions have been unfairly used by the government of the day to harass rivals. If that is the case, surely individual citizens are far more vulnerable to such harassment, allowing democracy to be gamed. At the end of the day, electoral integrity depends on the confidence that free choice will not lead to adverse consequences.India has made notable progress in improving its electoral process. The Centre should not now stand as an obstacle to that progress.