Constitution Allows ……

Constitution Allows “I Vote Not to Vote”

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 for anyone!

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 Politicians and Political Parties in India … show your power,

Expressing your desire not to vote for anybody is even more powerful than voting… so don’t miss your chance. So either vote, or vote not to vote (vote 49-O)!

A Compilation by Pravda Nair

Enraged

By Pravda

Like most people who had an off for Thanksgiving, I was looking forward to enjoying 4 days of lazing about with the family and getting a refreshing break. But as fate would have it I woke up to the shocking news of Mumbai and indeed the whole of India being held to ransom by a bunch of audacious young men. And like most of my countrymen, I was glued to the television watching shots of one of the most memorable images of my childhood being dented by grenades and gunshots. At the end of it all, I feel relief, shock, fear a certain sense of numbness but above all of it, I am angry.

I am angry at the people who brainwash such intelligent, motivated young men into psychopaths who have no remorse whatsoever at carrying out such violent attacks on innocent men, women and children. What a waste of potential and to what purpose?

I am angry at the media for carrying sound bites of politicians like Modi, who without understanding that he is actually being a nuisance decides to visit the Oberoi when the encounter was on and makes absolutely unbelievable statements like “hum to car mein andar jaake bhi dekhna chahte the par in logon ne jaane nahin diya.” What did he think was going on there? Shooting for a Bollywood block buster. And to add salt to injury, he announces awards for martyrs like Hemant Karkare – the person whom Modi and his party had labeled anti national because he had implicated a “sadvi” in the Malegaon case. How hypocritical can they get? The media even went a little further. In one of the channels there was a discussion on whether Mr. Hemant Karkare had made a mistake in exposing himself to the terrorists even before the embers of his pyre had died down.

The politicians of our country have showed themselves in poor light throughout this incident. Vilasrao Deshmukh decides to invite Ram Gopal Verma and his son Ritesh for a guided tour of the now destructed Taj. Home Minister makes statements to the effect “Itne bade shahar mein ekhad hadsa ho jaaata hain.” Advani and company constantly saying that “PM should resign” as if that is going to help us solve terrorism. Not one of them seem to be in control of the situation. All are holding on to their pet lines. The government defending themselves and the opposition baying for their blood. Even the reaction from the Government is on predictable lines. They probably think that if they ask a few people to take “moral responsibility” and resign, we would be appeased. But I don’t think so. One think which is different here is that it is not the common, nameless dispensable people who have been victims or who have suffered damages. This time around there have been prominent faces and I am hoping that the hit that the top industrialists have taken will atleast force the government to take some concrete action. Our political class has been so hopeless, that I actually found the Pakistani foreign minister’s statements more attractive. Atleast he was defending his country with logic, clarity and passion and not just parroting lines.

Above all, I am angry with myself. I am not happy with the political system but what do I do. I stay indoors on election day and choose not to use the most powerful weapon I have, “My vote”. I know that many of my fellow citizens are stuck in the same situation. What is there to choose between a “bunch of losers?” But I think it’s time we found out whether there are other options available to us because as recent elections have shown even if there is a turn out of 15% someone will get elected. I think there is a provision where a citizen can tell the election officers that he wants to cast a blank vote or a protest vote to send a message that he doesn’t want any of the candidates who are contesting. I am not sure of the provisions, but am trying to find out the details. If any of my fellow citizens know about this, please let us know. I think the time has come for us to use this and show to all political parties that we want leaders who are a part of us and not act as if they have fallen straight from the skies!

Yamma Maahi

Like majority of the female population of this country, I am a huge fan of Mahi. No I don’t think he is great looking nor adore his locks. What I adore about him is his temperament.

My longest lasting crush was on Rahul Dravid whom I again adored for his temperament. But I think Dhoni goes a step further. While Dravid was cool and composed Dhoni is aggressive, cool and composed. Dhoni is proactive and takes his job seriously as a captain. He has no hesitation about voicing his opinion or offering advice to the legends of the game as he looks upon them as players whom he is expected to lead. In the recent Mohali match I was amused to see him walk up to Dada to tell him something during their long partnership.

Another adorable quality is he is objective and leads from the front. The fact that he promoted himself before the fab 3 in the second innings without even worrying about whether they would feel slighted goes to show that for him “the team indeed comes first.”

The third quality that impresses me is the way he handles the press conferences. His answers are as straightforward and crude as his shots. For instance in the post-match conference at Mohali when he was asked about how India had got the better of Australia in verbal volleying, he retorted by saying, “if we had to win the match on verbals, we would have hired a few people who were experts at that” He is also refreshingly self-effacing and down-to earth.

Lastly and to me the most important are his special “gestures”. Its difficult enough to control the heady sense of victory and the adrenaline rush when we have won an important series. But captain cool does not just keep cool but goes beyond that. How? Remember when India won the One day series down under when people all around were dancing about in glee, Dhoni quietly headed towards the dressing room to find Sachin whose important innings had won India the match. Numerous other gestures like driving the bike no matter who won the man of the match, handing over the stump to Ganguly or even giving his shirt to a young kid on the boundary line.

In this modern age of at times dirty aggressive cricket, its nice to see these warm gestures which bring out the softer- humane side of our super-heroes.

By
Pravda

Impoverished

Poverty is a problem that the world is grappling with today. But when we refer to the word, we often tend to interpret the word in purely materialistic sense. The picture that springs up in front of our eyes is often that of homeless, malnourished destitutes. It is a serious and thought–provoking issue that despite achieving so much, man still has not found solutions to provide the basic necessities of subsistence to all human beings. But for me there is another kind of poverty that is spreading like an epidemic and that possibly could threaten the very existence of mankind.

This is the poverty of emotion, the poverty of patience and sensitivity towards other human beings and other creatures. Today we are so engrossed in this struggle for survival and this mad race that we don’t even pause to think whether our actions are affecting people around us adversely. We have become so insensitive that we don’t even feel the pain and the loneliness of those who are near us; leave alone the starving, malnourished children in some foreign land.

I have often wondered how journalists could go about filming a man who sets himself on fire in broad daylight without making even the smallest attempt to stop him. An entire village watching a man being lynched to death without one person coming forward to help or support. All this points to the poverty of our core feelings.

It is sad indeed that as we become rich materially, our souls become poorer.

By
Pravda