Autonomy Established & Elections Streamlined - Part III (A Book Review)

 Continued from Part - II

‘Sarcar’ hits Back

Earlier to T.N.Seshan’s arrival at the ECI his predecessors did not seem to have a proper understanding of the scope of the ECI’s autonomy. The governments, rather the political power-centers,  had become addicted to  run the elections as per their whims.  Therefore, the political power-groups prevailed upon the government at the centre to ‘clip (T.N.Seshan’s ) wings’. And within a short period of the  Supreme Court’s autonomy judgment on 19th August 1993 the Sarcar hit back at the ECI . 

On 1st October 1993 an Ordinance was passed appointing additional two election commissioners at the ECI – G.V.G Krishnamurty and Dr.M.S.Gill ! The ordinance that enabled the appointment of the two election commissioners was called “The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Condition of Service) Ordinance.  These appointments were justified by the government on the ground of “to assist” T.N.Seshan in his work! Whereas T.N.Sheshan himself felt that his workload at the ECI “took about 10 minutes in the morning and three minutes in the afternoon.” And the rest of any working  day he was free of any demand from the ECI’s office,  he rather spent time ‘solving The Times of India crossword.’

T.N.Seshan Fights it Out

This new situation lead to T.N.Seshan going to the Supreme Court to seek the equivalence of the CEC and the Election Commissioners. On 15th November 1993 in its stay order on the ordinance the two judge bench of the Supreme Court gave a relief to T.N.Seshan which stated:

 “Until further orders, to ensure smooth and effective working of the commission and also to avoid confusion both in administration as well as the electoral process, we direct that the Chief Election Commissioner shall remain in complete overall control of the commission’s work. He may ascertain the views of other commissioners or such of them as he may choose, on the issues that may come up before the commission from time to time. However, he will not be bound by their views. It is also made clear that the Chief Election Commissioner alone will be entitled to issue instructions to the commission’s staff as well as to the outside agencies and that no other commissioner will issue such instructions.”

However, till the final decision, which came only in 1995, he continued to provide the additional commissioners necessary official facilities and involvement in the decision making  process at ECI. But the several unsavory incidents narrated in the book reflect very badly on  the behavior people appointed to an autonomous body like the ECI. The deliberations in the court, summarized by T.N.Seshan in  some  details,  make very interesting reading. It becomes quite obvious that the ECI had become a proxy for the politicians who wanted to keep the manipulating power in the election processes. 

360 Degree Election Reforms

Despite pin-pricks from the additional commissioners, executive obstructions from the government, and legal challenges from politicians and political parties, T.N.Seshan continued his 360 degree election reforms. He cleaned up the laid-back and casual attitude of the staff within the ECI and set standards for immediate actions. He created an aura of autonomy and self-restrained functioning within the ECI. 

He inculcated the discipline among the executive staff  on deputation for election work,  from DMs, Police force to the last official at the booth level. The power of ECI to discipline the erring government officer on election duties, which was established by the Supreme Court order of 19th August 1993, was set in motion by penalizing those who treated the ECI orders casually. 

Ground Rules Established

On the ground several steps taken by T.N.Seshan laid the foundation for the conduct of fair and transparent elections for establishing a vibrant democracy. Booth Level detailed functioning was listed out and operationalised. The candidates and the political parties were compelled to submit within prescribed time limit account for the item-wise expenditure incurred on each candidate. Failing which both were made liable to penalties. To weed out use of  black money he made the executive to enhance the limits of election expenditure. 

He prohibited and even penalized the politicians/political parties who defaced the environment with posters, buntings etc during the election time. He even strictly  enforced the time-limits for the use of loud speakers and the  campaign. He ensured that the voters’ lists were properly updated and the copies were made available to the parties concerned. He introduced the video graphing of the election campaigns of each candidate to ensure that no illegal activities were conducted. For effective use of the police force he stretched the conduct of election to suit the type of weather, location and the past records of notoriety of a given location.

EPIC and A Strong Foundation

His pet project was the issue of EPIC – Election Photo Identity Card. This was the time when except for the Pass Port Indians did not have any individual Identity Cards. The  cost-effective technology was not available and it was abhorred by the politicians and the parties as they feared a tight ECI control over the booths during the conduct of  election. Entire abuse thus far at the booth level, such as booth capturing, voter impersonation etc would be impossible with EPIC! Later on EPIC became a game-changer in the election process. With the  introduction of AADHAR now every Indian has at least two valuable personal identity cards. 

In the annals of Indian democratic process  T.N.Seshan’s contributions have become strong foundation. He single-handedly bulldozed every impediment that came his way, be it executive processes or legal hurdles, he faced them head on with full courage, his administrative acumen and the experiences with the political  class. 

T.N.Seshan got recognized the world over for his thorough transformation of the ECI functioning and was invited for lectures within and outside India.

Very Frank, Illuminating Introspection by a Patriot

T.N.Seshan’s biography is unique in many ways. It not only provides a deep exposure to the functioning of and transformation of our democratic systems, but very interestingly it provides very illuminating self-analysis. The last three chapters- 21. The Private Person – Public Persona Conundrum, 22. The Final Exam And A Kind Recognition and 23. I Take a Bow are really unique chapters in this book. If he was unsparing of others for their short comings, he is equally unsparing of himself while looking back on his own performances. A few illustrations are provided below:

“I often say that Palakkad Brahmins come in four types: cooks, crooks, musicians or bureaucrats, and that I was all four of them.”

“Before giving me the job of cabinet secretary, Rajiv Gandhi had said, ‘Mr.Seshan, my ministers are all afraid of you. Will you promise to be softer?’ I had said, ‘ No, Sir, I promise that I will not change. And if it doesn’t suit you, don’t give me the job.;

“Once I wrote a balance sheet about myself. I put to myself the question of single characteristic in me that I would like to change. The answer was my impatient temperament. What was fundamental to me was character, honesty and integrity. My father was totally self-made. He turned out be a successful lawyer. He had inherited values from his father, and I had inherited them from him: integrity, efficiency and the shortness of temper (that is not fair).”

“Being a dictator goes against my highest motivations. My inner strength arises from spirituality, I have my personal dharma to fulfill, and I had the dharma of my duty. Maintaining the rule of law was part and parcel of that dharma. Would I go against the very source of my strength?”

“I was not looking for a job, but was looking for work.”

“As I look back on my life and career, all that I can think and say is,  Life has been great—stormy, but great.’

“I look on in wait for titans, in the hope that the youth will march with them to make this nation rise to its ancient greatness. It is still not happening the way it should, but it will, and of that I have no doubt.”

Prediction of post 1996 Political Scenario?!

The following quote sounds like T.N.Seshan had some premonition of things going to happen: 

“My greatest agony was whatever changes I had made in the electoral process could be undone once I left the office of the CEC. Whenever I had tried to get the government to make systemic changes, I had met a stone wall. I almost thought this was done by the PM and his party deliberately. An indifferent successor could, in collusion with non-benign PM, take elections back to not only the joke they were, but even worse than they had been.”

At this juncture one has to recollect the entire scenario of our elections between 1996-1999, the formation of and the fall of Vajpayee government, and the various efforts to formulate multi-party fronts like NDA and UPA.

A Captivating biography- A Concurrent History

T.N.Seshan was a very vibrant and dynamic personality. And his biography not only reflects these qualities but also his intellectual sharpness. This biography is not only about his life, but is equally  a recorded concurrent history of a turbulent period of 1991-1996 which transformed the economic structure from planned economy to one of private sector driven one, and challenged the core  political values of our democracy. T.N.Seshan has had a very close position in these transformational period of our country. 

Reviewer’s Post Script

I believe in the dictum that - a book review should be brief, but at the same time do justice to the book and the writer; and should only be that long that it should not challenge the readers’ patience!. 

I tender unconditional apology to the readers for violating this dictum in writing a three episode review of this book. 

But, how can any honest reviewer cut-short a Review  of book by a  rare personality as dynamic and colorful as T.N.Seshan was?

CONLCUDED 

T. N. Seshan - Maverick in Action - Part II (A Book Review)

Continued from Part - I

T.N.Seshan was  aware  that “corruption in India was generated by corruption in elections”  therefore, the elections had become a symbol of corruption.  He records - “The practices and traditions” of holding and conducting elections “were going down the wrong way; it had to stop somewhere, the Republic had to fight back”. T.N.Seshan was conscious of the fact that as CEC he was answerable to none except the Parliament, the Laws, the Courts and that he had to abide by the Constitution  if he were to pursue the goal of executing free and fair elections.

Therefore, within a day after his taking over as CEC T.N.Seshan in his press briefing  had said “ And a lot more needs to be done in almost every sphere of the electoral process, including the electoral rolls, polling stations, code of conduct and the role of civil servants and the polling personnel to make the elections foolproof.”

Cleaning the Rot Within

However, when T.N.Seshan visited the ECI office for the first time after taking over as CEC, the  realization dawned on him that he had to start the election  transformation process first from within, because of  ‘the easy-going atmosphere, the stinking toilets, and the broken furniture told him that a lot needed to be done  first at the ECI itself! ECI had got inflicted by the overall work atmosphere prevailing in the country at that time’.

To spruce up the work environment and the  cleanliness the housekeeping was assigned proper duties; old unwanted furniture were disposed of and new necessary furniture were procured. Arrival on time, attending to assigned duties, maintaining proper work atmosphere were strictly enforced.

He was surprised to note that there was huge ‘overtime’ bill. He records “I was more than certain that the amount of work done in the ECI did not require so much time that the staff need to do overtime. The overtime bill of the commission dropped drastically from Rs.7 lakh to less than Rs.1 lakh per month after I took over. Similarly, the surprise checks helped in improving the general discipline. The housekeeping helped in sprucing up the work environment. ...A major bank had a branch in the premises of the commission and it had accounts of all kinds of people not connected with the commission. The fact that many people not connected with the commission were visiting the body’s premises was not acceptable, as it undermined the office’s discipline. Soon, in the place of that bank, another major bank set up a branch to serve commission and to its employees exclusively,”

The ECI uses the lent services of the  selected local government employees for a short period  to carry out the gigantic task of conducting free and fair election. Till T.N.Seshan took over as the CEC such borrowed staff hardly knew their full responsibilities or were hand in glove with their local bosses, both political and others, or some did not hesitate even to refuse to accept these electoral duties. In nutshell the commission was hamstrung in performing its duties effectively.  

T.N.Seshan had to  use all his experience of a successful bureaucrat in converting such recalcitrant group of government employees  into a battle ready ECI army! His autobiography is replete with examples of how he tamed the unruly officials and trained them to be an effective election army. Within a short time ECI started to make  impact on the electoral scenario of the country  under his leadership as CEC. And politicians and political parties started to feel the unprecedented heat. That set in motion campaign against T.N.Sheshan the CEC!

The Looming Threat of Banana Republic

In the first phase of Parliamentary elections of 1991 itself T.N.Seshan got the taste of how the country was facing the threat of a Banana Republic.  There were reports of booth capturing, intimidation and total disregard for the rule of law in the conduct of elections. From Andhra Pradesh 28  such cases were reported, 58 from Bihar, 26 from Haryana, 48 from Uttar Pradesh and nine from Bengal. “ These were a cause for concern since these incidents were more systematic than sporadic. There was an organized effort to defeat the free will of the people......In Rupali sector in Haryana, about 200 men on horseback were reported to have gone on a spree of capturing booths, intimidating the supporters of rival parties and even officials of the police and the administration. Bombs were exploded at places to scare off genuine voters. At one place, the CRPF used lathis to disperse a group of militant youth supporter. But the youth were determined to capture the booths. We could not proactively stop the malpractice....” The corrupt politicians were having a free run  making a mockery of the country’s democratic structure

T.N.Seshan started countermanding the elections for such parliamentary constituencies not only in Rupali,  but also in Purnea, Patna, Etawa, Bulandshahar, and Meerut. Such strict actions from ECI were unheard of earlier!.

‘Save EC from Sheshan’ Cry

The CEC also  enjoys a  juridical position to pass judgment on certain disputes relating to election matters. Soon after taking charge as the CEC, T.N.Sheshan had to solve several election  party symbol disputes.

Arjun Singh had appealed to ECI to  deregister the Bharatiya Janatha Party [BJP] withdraw the allotted Lotus symbol to it on the ground that after its Rama Janmabhumi rath yatra ‘the party ceased to be secular in nature’. At the same time the BJP’s Ved Prakash Goel had petitioned that the Congress (I) should not be registered as a political party, ‘since it had given assurances to voters in Mizoram that the state would be made a Christian state.’ Sharad Joshi’s Shetkari Sanghatana had sought de-recognition of Shiv Sena, alleging that it was inciting communal passions.Then there was  the case of Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’ [AIDMK] Two Leaves and Janatha Party and Lok Dal  and Janatha Dal’s  Ploughman within Wheel (chakra haldhar) tussle.

Therefore, when T.N.Seshan upheld the right of Arjun Singh in seeking de-recognition of BJP, but  not accepting the application of Ved Prakash Goel for not registering the Congress (I) on the technical ground the same did not go well with the BJP which cried ‘Save EC from Seshan, .’ But that was only a beginning.

Reforms & Repercussions

T.N.Seshan was very clear that “The responsibility of CEC is not only to run the electoral process efficiently but also to identify and implement ways and means by which the electoral process would improve.” Since the state governments were used to bulldoze their agendas during the elections, every step T.N.Sheshan took lead to confrontations and cases in various courts challenging the authority of the ECI. He realized that “The executive was trying to bully the ECI into a subservient position in relation to elections.” T.N.Sheshan recollects “ I had been cautioning the government with two alternatives open to me: that I would stop all election processes; and two, that I would take the matter to court with suitable jurisdiction to obtain a decision on the matter.”

Soon the Tamil Nadu election provided T.N.Seshan with the opportunity to stike and strike he did.  Expressing his inability to carry out his constitutional duties as CEC due to lack of cooperation from the executive he declared that he is compelled to postpone the elections. Since such action was unexpected from the ECI, all the hell broke loose. The press went berserk and several petitions were filed against the CEC order in Kolkota, Chennai and Mumbai high courts which issued interim orders against the  CEC. ECI moved the Supreme Court to transfer to itself these cases. And the Supreme Court yielded to this request. It also stayed all proceedings in the High Courts.

During this very time, as if providential, the Supreme Court in its judgment on 19th August 1993, relating to the state of J&K,  ruled that the ‘superintendence, direction and control’ of all elections were not ‘unbridled’. It said, ‘Power under article 324 is not altogether unreviewable.’ Looking back T.N.Seshan felt that ‘his  electoral reforms, 2-19 August 1993 should be considered red-letter days in the history of the commission. It was important because it clarified that the constitutional scheme gave control to the ECI. Otherwise, conducting free and fair elections would not have been possible.

Click here to read Third and Final Part of the Review

A Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Who Prevented India From Becoming a Banana Republic - Part I (A Book Review)

Book Review of "Through The Broken Glass" (T. N. Seshan's autobiography)

[Rupa Publications Pvt Ltd, New Delhi: 2023;  PP:350+; Price Rs.795]

T.N.Seshan was appointed as the tenth Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in the year 1991. By 2023 the number of CECs has risen to 25! However, other than T.N.Seshan, today no other CEC’s name is in the public domain. Interestingly,  among nearly 42 years of illustrious bureaucratic career, it was T.N.Seshan’s last 6 years as CEC which shot him into public limelight. T.N.Seshan was a  stickler to rules, and time schedules, but was also a  staunch believer in destiny, astrology, religion and  rituals. He was a mixture of both brilliance and brashness.  Obviously, T.N.Seshan and controversies were inseparables. If he was  conferred with the Magsaysay award for his yeomen services as CEC,  he was also  recipient of choicest of epithets! He was called Hitler, Dictator, Megalomaniac, Maverick and even an Alsatian dog – that growled, barked and bit!! Such an extreme bandwidth of ‘personality’ certainly generates a high degree of interest in his autobiography. 

Genius  with Two Birth Dates 

T.N.Seshan was born on 15th May 1933 as the sixth child, after an elder brother and four sisters, to Sithalakshmi and Thirunellai Samibhattar Narayana Iyer or T.S.Narayana Iyer. His birth place Palghat was already known for Musicians, Intellectuals, Astrologers, Black Magicians and of course the Palghat Brahmins! ‘Thalayalam’, a strange mix of Tamil and Malayalam was exclusive to Palghat Brahmins, who were therefore also called as ‘Thalayalis’.

T.N.Seshan was taken to Basel Evangelical School in Palghat, for admission tofirst standard. T.N.Sehsan’s performance  at the admission test was so brilliant that  headmaster Stephan decided to admit him directly to the third standard. Suddenly, Stephan realized that T.N.Seshan would complete his secondary school by 13th year of age, and consequently, later on he would  become ineligible for admission to the intermediate!  Because students had to be at least 13 years plus six months of age for being eligible to admission to intermediate course! To overcome this strange future obstacle Stephan suggested that the date of birth of T.N.Seshan be advanced!

Thus, T.N.Seshan got his second and  an ‘Official’ birth date – 15th December 1932, as against his ‘Real’ birth date - 15th May 1933

Not Fit for the Role!

The  story of how a reluctant T.N.Seshan ultimately accepted to become the CEC is quite captivating.  

T.N Seshan was due for his retirement by 31st December,1990. In November 1990 Vinod Pande, the cabinet secretary to Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, offered T.N Seshan the post of Principal Secretary to Prime Minister. Explaining T.N.Seshan refused this offer.  He records - ‘I was not a good choice, that I was a very difficult person to work with, and that he would be better off finding somebody else.’ 

Around the same time, due to the untimely death of the then CEC, Peri Shastri,  Vinod Pande, came back with  yet another offer to T.N.Seshan. This time that  of CEC. T.N.Seshan’s  immediate reaction, once again was a firm ‘no’. He knew that despite a few involvements with the elections  quite early during his long career, he had served for 20 years or more  only in the scientific departments. His honest assessment of himself was  - “I knew nothing about elections. I, anyway, did not think very high of CEC’s post. I did not know much about it at that time. ...And so, I said,  no, I do not want it. I am not fit for that role.”

Very shortly thereafter, Subramanya Swamy, Minister, Commerce & Industry in the Chandra Shekhar government, T.N.Seshan’s friend (later turned foe),   came  with  the offer of  same CEC post. These repeated offers made T.N.Seshan to contact at the mid of the night his old boss Rajiv Gandhi, whom he had closely served in different capacities, including P.Ms security.  He was seeking an appointment to discuss this matter. On Rajiv Gandhi’s suggestion both met within 30 minutes of the call.  Rajiv Gandhi’s response this offer is quite interesting! To quote from the book – “What? Is he going to give you the CEC’s post? He will repent later.....This job is neither good for you, nor will appointing you as CEC be good for Chandra Shekhar. Take this job only if no other job is available.”

As T.N.Seshan only got more confused from this response, he later met the President, R.Venkaraman, whom he knew from his Tamil Nadu tenure.  Even this veteran leader was not in favor of T.N.Seshan accepting this job. To quote from the book – ‘The CEC’s job will not suit you. You can’t get any other job? If you have no alternative, take this job’. More confusion!

Next, T.N.Seshan consulted his elder brother in Chennai, who himself was a retired, distinguished IAS officer. Bother’s reply – ‘You are going to be 58. Why do you wish to be stuck in Delhi? Come here. It would be supporting for me too.’ Having no clear direction from his brother as well, T.N.Seshan sought the advice of his father-in-law in Bangalore. 

Astral Influence 

Having frankly expressing his total ignorance of these positions his father-in-law preferred to consult astrologer Krishnamurthy Shastri of the Malleswaram Shiva Temple. And Krishnamurthy Shastri predicted thus – “However much you may deny, you will take up this job. You will be in this job for six years. And for those six years, it will be like sitting on a bed of thorns. But nothing bad will happen.’

Such suggestions and opinion only further confused T.N.Seshan. A great believer in destiny and the religious ethos, T.N.Seshan finally thought of seeking the advice of Kanchi seeer at Kanchi Mutt. For this he sought the intermediation of a friend in Kanchi mutt. As if Seer had some premonition of the purpose of his seeking this appointment, T.N.Seshan’s friend called back  within 20 minutes  of his call and said – ‘There was a great surprise. Before I could even ask the seer, he himself said, “It is a respectable job, ask him to take it, and gave his approval.”

T.N.Seshan having got these two positive responses from the Malleswaram Shiva Temple astrologer and the Kanchi Seer immediately contacted Subramanya Swami and confirmed his acceptance. Thus, a reluctant T.N.Seshan became the CEC,  indeed with some astral influence. 

CEC- A Task Cut Out

In the mid 1970s when Allahabad High Court judgment endangered her Prime Minister’s position, Indira Gandhi tried to overcome the impediments by the modifications in the relevant laws and even imposing the Emergency. And this exposed the  Indian democracy to the power politics.  For nearly five years the country saw total abuse of official power for  political and personal purposes. 

Gandhian principles, which were benchmark of freedom struggle, were replaced by tantalizing slogans. The election became the sure path to power. Country saw squabbles for power sharing and the  injection of caste  as a power into politics. 

T.N.Seshan had a ‘task cut out’ for him when he accepted position of CEC! How, T.N.Seshan converted his reluctance in  accepting the post of CEC into a resolve to clean up the election process is also a story of how India was saved from becoming a Banana Republic. 

                  

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