We Can because we believe We Can !!

The terror attack last week on Mumbai has stirred a hornet's nest. People have realised that mere words wont do,its time for action. To show solidarity, we all congregated at the Gateway of India on 3rd Dec evening, & the Nation watched with renewed optimism, at what we can achieve.

One of the messages that has been doing the rounds over the last few days through blogs, internet sites, emails etc was :

Section 49-O of the Constitution

Did you know that there is a system in our constitution, as per the 1969 act, in section "49-O" that a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn't want to vote anyone! (This applies to polling booths that use EVM’s as well)

Yes such a feature is available, but obviously these seemingly notorious leaders have never disclosed it. This is called "49-O".

Why should you go and say "I VOTE NOBODY"?? Because, in a ward, 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 would bring fear into parties and hence look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This would change the way, of our whole political system. It is seemingly surprising why the election commission has not revealed such a feature to the public.

Please spread this news to as many as you know. Seems to be a wonderful weapon against corrupt parties in India. Show your power, expressing your desire not to vote for anybody, is even more powerful than voting.

However, I am not so sure this alone would work. So we exercise our rights on “49-0” & don’t vote for all these corrupt politicians. None of the current parties & their inept politicians are voted to power. Then what?? Who runs the country then?? The various ministries under the State & the Centre has to function. There are daily administrative activities which are governed by the various ministries. So are we saying that the Country comes to a dead stop???? Or are we saying that polling happens again, in search of a popular party to win, thereby the country incurring huge expenses????? In the current economic situation (in fact in any situation), it’s a callous waste of our treasury.


I therefore propose the following :

First, let us make a nationwide petition that we do not want the forthcoming general elections. Let us all clearly join hands together to convey this single message to the Government. Next, let us all gather together & bring back Mr Abdul Kalam as our President. He is known for being capable, along with being straight & clean. In fact he is one person, I remember, who the country wanted to remain as our President, even after his term was over. But for the political backhand moves, he would probably have continued to be our President.
As a Supreme Commander, we give him one full term & empower him to take all decisions necessary to clean the system completely. We also choose people through consensus from across the country, who would be his advisory committee. A good place to look for could be the people whom we had voted, when the lead India Movement program was initiated by the Times of India Group. The contestants were within the age group of 25 – 45 years. Young in body, mind & spirit, with a vision to lead India. A lot of very interesting & interested candidates had come up thru systematic voting.
These people would be given specific portfolios & they would assist our president elect Mr Abdul Kalam to clean up the country completely. This action could be similar to the sanitizing process that the NSG conducted last week after establishing control over the The Taj, The Trident & the Nariman House. Its like a doctor doing an operation & then cleaning up the wounds.
Once this exercise is over, the country goes through a proper general election & chooses the most efficient party to power. There should also be proper eligibility criteria for a candidate to stand for an election. Factors like education, social work done till now, age & physical fitness, etc should be taken into consideration. During this interim period, when the President & his team is cleaning up the country, various political parties would be expected to work at all levels, including grassroot levels & display significant improvement activities across the country.
During elections, each political party would be allowed to spend only a pre decided amount for campaign, which will be fixed by the election commission based on fair criteria. An audit would be done to ensure that no corruption is involved in the whole process.

It is said that terrorists & other unsocial elements constitute only 2% of the total population. The balance 98% constitutes of good & peace loving people. However this 2% is extremely committed to their task & act without worrying about the consequences. That is why they create such a telling impact on us. In contrast, the 98% have very high tolerance & they just keep quiet & watch. If this mass were to raise their voice & respond to the need of the hour, the terror would not exist at all. We would establish peace & prosperity all over. So let us wake up & raise our voice. Let us act, before it is too late. Let us join hands in wiping out terrorism once & for all.

I implore people from all walks of life to come forward with your valuable suggestions & support this movement. I am sure, that further suggestions from each one of you, who reads this message, will only make this a more concrete plan. Do not sit quietly & wait for others to respond. I implore people from all walks of life to come ahead with their suggestions.

This is the time to shoulder responsibility, to contribute towards rebuilding our country. If each one of you join hands here, we shall soon see Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam….. One World Family for World Peace.
Jai Hind !!!!