Editorial of the Day (24th May): ECI and Model Code of Conduct (MCC)

This editorial covers the complexities and challenges associated with ensuring fair and truthful conduct during elections in India.

Table of Contents

Context: There have been complexities and challenges associated with ensuring fair and truthful conduct during elections in India.

Introduction

National Motto: “Satyameva Jayate” (“Truth alone triumphs”) from the Mundaka Upanishad was adopted as India’s national motto on January 26, 1950.
Election Commission of India (ECI):
- The ECI was established a day before India became a Republic.
- Its primary role is to facilitate democratic elections, ensuring a level playing field for candidates and political parties by preventing undue influence through money, muscle power, or falsehood.

Implementation and Expectations:
- The MCC is designed to ensure fair conduct during elections by instilling a sense of self-restraint among candidates.
- Adopted with the expectation that candidates will project exemplary behaviour, as outlined in the Manual on MCC published during the General Elections in March 2019.

Model vs. Moral Code

Some argue why the MCC is termed a “model” code instead of a “moral” code.
Morality is often subjective and involves deeper intent, which can be difficult to discern and prove.
Law examines mens rea, the motive behind actions, to determine guilt, while morality concerns deeper, sometimes hidden, intentions.
Immanuel Kant noted, “In law, a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics, he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.”

The MCC is designed to ensure fair conduct during elections by preventing undue influence through money, muscle power, or falsehood.
- Despite its implementation, the MCC faces challenges in instilling genuine self-restraint among political candidates, who often face dilemmas between lying to others and themselves.

Mahabharata Story Reference

The story of Yudhistra and Dronacharya in the Mahabharata illustrates the complexity of truth and morality.
Yudhistra’s partial truth about Ashwathama’s death led to Dronacharya’s withdrawal from battle and subsequent death, illustrating the loss of moral high ground despite technical truthfulness.

Provisions Against Hate Speech: The MCC and legal frameworks (Indian Penal Code Section 123(3&3A) and Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951) prohibit appeals to caste or communal feelings for votes.
- Such appeals must explicitly relate to voting to be considered corrupt practices or electoral offences.
Enforcement Challenges: Clever phrasing allows politicians to circumvent these laws, complicating enforcement.

The Mahabharata story underscores the need to rethink and reboot the MCC and our conscience.
Emphasised the importance of maintaining moral integrity in democratic processes to avoid long-term damage beyond elections.