Lesson For India – UK Aims At Empowering Voters To Recall MPs With Questionable Activities

It is a development that offers a lesson and inspiration for all parliamentary democracies of the world, including India.

The UK Parliament (also called the British parliament) has moved a bill that aims at empowering the British voters with the right to recall an MP elected by them, if the latter is found to be engaged in questionable activities.

If the bill gets passed by the British Parliament, then it will give the voters from a constituency to force a by election if they feel that their elected representative has got engaged in serious wrongdoings. The only condition is that the petition moved to that effect must be signed by at least 10 per cent of the constituents.

I feel everybody will agree that it is a very significant step, likely to play a very effective role in purifying electoral system and curbing malpractices by elected representatives.

I eagerly wait for the day when the Indian parliament will show the courage to come up with one such bill. And I also appeal to the Election Commission of India to study the said bill, and check whether the same can be replicated in India (with necessary modifications, if any).