JOIN USWhile politicians in Parliament may be planning to offset the Supreme Court verdict on disqualification of MPs and MLAs on their conviction in serious crimes, the general public expressed full support for the ruling, if one goes by the results of a survey by a global campaign network.
Around 87 per cent of the 8,086 respondents in the survey said they “strongly agree” with the recent verdict while 67 per cent believe that it is “totally” wrong on the part of lawmakers to try to subvert the order through legislative means.
The survey conducted between August 31 and September 4 by Avaaz.org said 82.5 per cent of those surveyed in Karnataka supported the SC verdict on disqualification while 63.2 per cent respondents from the state said it is wrong on the part of lawmakers to attempt offsetting the verdict.
The survey results came amid Supreme Court rejecting the Centre’s plea for a review of the order. The Rajya Sabha, last month, passed an amendment bill to allow convicted lawmakers to retain their membership but barred them from voting and drawing salary.
Three-fourth of the respondents also wanted fast-track courts in the country for the trial of cases involving politicians while 84.7 per cent said MPs should respect the Supreme Court’s judgment. Also, around 80 per cent opined that political parties should come under the Right to Information.
Avaaz.org quoted Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy as saying, “Politicians are shamefully fighting to evade responsibility for their actions and protect their powers and privileges. They are abusing their position and bringing politics into further disrepute.”
Former IPS officer Prakash Singh said that law-breakers could not be lawmakers. “Those convicted must be debarred from Parliament. People would like to see them in Tihar,” he said. According to the survey, all the respondents in Madhya Pradesh agreed with the Supreme Court verdict on disqualification while the figure for Delhi, the national capital, was 93 per cent.