Enable Ginger

SOME of the recent positions and steps taken by the Election Commission (EC) of India do no credit to its well-earned reputation of being an impartial arbiter and supervisor of free and fair elections, a role vested in it by the Indian Constitution.

In the last few years, particularly after the Modi government came back to power for a second term, the EC is seen increasingly to acquiesce to the wishes of the government and has even resiled from some of the independent positions it had earlier adopted.

THE victory of Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva in the Brazilian presidential elections was welcomed by the entire world with a sigh of relief. His election as the president of Brazil defeating the extreme-right incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro will have an impact on the future of Brazil and the entire Latin American region.

THE Global Hunger Index 2022, released on October 13, shows that India’s rank in the world has slipped further – from 101 last year to 107 this year – in terms of this important indicator of conditions of hunger and malnutrition. India’s rank is far below that of its neighbours, and levels of hunger and malnutrition are much better in many countries with significantly lower levels of economic development than India. Afghanistan, a war-torn country, is the only country in South Asia below India in terms of its GHI rank.

THE Election Commission of India wants political parties to provide detailed information about the financial implications of the promises made in their election manifestos as well as the effects of these promises on the fiscal sustainability of the state or central government’s finances. For this, the Election Commission proposes to amend the model code of conduct to include a two-part proforma to be filled up by political parties for disclosure of the promises made and the financial implications of these.