I would like to express my deep concern at the comment by Dr Manmohan Singh earlier this week, when he appealed to voters not to back independent candidates; he called them spoilers who stood no chance of winning.
While it is patently clear that the Prime Minister was using his reputation to try to assist one of his party’s favoured sons, who is having a very difficult time in his campaign for the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat, the propriety of this move is questionable. While it is certainly not unreasonable for anyone from the Congress party to ask voters to vote for Milind Deora, and, indeed, also not unreasonable for anyone from the Congress party to ask voters not to vote for, say, Meera Sanyal, one of Mr Deora’s specific opponents, I believe it is extremely inappropriate for anyone from any party to condemn all independent candidates who choose to exercise their constitutional rights by standing for election.
Does the Prime Minister believe that we need to change the Constitution to prohibit citizens from standing for public office as independents so that politics can become solely the preserve of political parties, however venal or corrupt they may be?
As citizens, we need to know how he truly feels.
Jamal Mecklai, Mumbai
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