Day 79 – Q 2.Do you think the code of conduct imposed during the elections in India serve any real purpose? Shouldn’t code of conduct be legally enforceable? Comment.

2. Do you think the code of conduct imposed during the elections in India serve any real purpose? Shouldn’t code of conduct be legally enforceable? Comment.  

क्या आपको लगता है कि भारत में चुनावों के दौरान लगाई गई आचार संहिता किसी वास्तविक उद्देश्य की पूर्ति करती है? क्या आचार संहिता कानूनी रूप से लागू करना सही नहीं होगा? टिप्पणी करें।

Introduction:

The model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the election Commission of India to regulate political parties and candidates prior to elections, in order to ensure a free and fair election.

Body

Code of conduct imposed during the elections in India serve real purpose

• It acts as a moral compass for the political representatives and politicians. 
• It sets a parameter to do moral analysis of behavior of political parties by citizens, media and civil society. 
• Election Commission of India (ECI) has certain executive power to check unethical behavior of political parties. 

Code of conduct imposed during the elections in India does not any serve real purpose

• Politicians have devised ingenious ways to circumvent the code of conduct. For instance wearing clothes of particular colour; using encrypted sentences in campaign speeches etc
• ECI does not have sufficient power to stop illegal activities like liquor distribution, cash for vote etc
• Moral erosion and criminalization of politics has rendered all codes of conduct ineffective. 

Code of conduct be made legally enforceable

• Nietzsche has said “fear is the mother of morality”. 
• ECI will get more power to enforce code of conduct. 
• Free and fair election is the soul of democracy. To safeguard and further strengthen our democracy code of conducts must be made legally enforceable.

Code of conduct be not made legally enforceable

• Morality cannot be enforced by law. To follow code of conduct in true spirit and to not adopt any circumvention of law, one has to imbibe political morality in himself/herself. 
• Code of conduct can be followed only by moral conviction. For this one must have moral principles and ability to do moral analysis. Law alone will not be sufficient.
• Chief Justice Earl Warren once remarked: “In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics.” Without development of political ethics making code of conduct legally enforceable will not be sufficient. 

Conclusion

Dr. Rajendra Prasad one remarked, “The future of our nation will not depend on whether it is ruled by this law or that, but on the men who rules it.” Hence development of morality is more important than legislation.