Santhosh Hegde: Voters have supreme power

"No thought is given to how money is acquired. There is a mad race to acquire money"

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Voters are supreme in a democracy, and the responsibility to protect democracy lies within their hands, said former Supreme Court Judge and former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hedge at an event hosted in an educational institution here recently.

He went on to add that while casting their vote, the public must decide whether the candidate will strive to make the society better or work for his or her own interest. The public must not be drawn towards incentives of money or social structures like caste, and must elect good people, he said.

Speaking on the issue of criminals entering the political field, Hegde noted that those who are jailed for more than two years are not allowed to contest elections, however, the state of the judiciary in the nation is such that a conviction alone requires around 50-60 years to materialise. “During this time span, one acquires necessary bail and contests elections and unfortunately, there is no law preventing it from happening,” he said.

After inaugurating a moot court competition at the Alliance University in Anekal, he called out the instances when those who are out on bail and not even been acquitted being lauded as leaders, presented with garlands and welcomed with slogans. “If you ask them why they do it to a man who has gone to jail, they retort with, 'Didn't Mahatma Gandhi also go to jail too?’,” he said.

He added that the society now respects a person with a lot of money and never bothers to find out the way the money was acquired. “No thought is given to how money is acquired. There is a mad race to acquire money in today’s society. If you want to become rich, the best way has become to hold a big post,” he added.