Indian bishops suggest how to chose candidates at election time
New Delhi (AsiaNews) More than 670 million Indians, from age 18 on up, will flock to cast their ballots on April 20 and May 10, as the government enacts the country's first-ever total electronic voting system. Justifying the voters' return to polling stations this time has been the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decision to dissolve Parliament last Feb. 6, just six months before normal end of term. This has been a decision which many analysts believe was inspired by the party's desire to take advantage of recent national economic growth and booming crop yields.
Religious minorities (Christians and Muslims) however fear that any increase in BJP power will result in a greater influence of fanatical Hinduism, which has more than once violently suppressed their religious rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
In early March the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBSI) made the following appeal to all voters (and not just Catholics):
"As the general election draws near every citizen of this country looks forward to having representatives and leaders who will lead the nation to greater levels of peace, harmony and prosperity. Every citizen is given a chance to exercise his power of choice to elect the right candidates for the parliament and to state legislatures.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India exhorts every Christian and Believer in God to fast and pray for peaceful, fair and free elections throughout the country. The CBCI urges every Catholic and all people of goodwill with voting rights to discharge with utmost seriousness the civic duty placed on their shoulders.
At the same time we appeal to every candidate seeking votes of the electorate to regard with due consideration the task they are embarking on. Every citizen who has a right to vote should exercise his/her franchise at the time of election. Shrinking from such a responsibility would mean abdication of one's democratic right and duty.
With this in mind, we turn to our fellow citizens with the following suggestions.
Every voter has the responsibility to vote for a person who:
1. Respects life from womb to tomb as a precious masterpiece of God's creation;
2. Stands for and is led by values that promote human dignity, social equality, religious harmony and national integrity;
3. Will protect the fundamental rights of all citizens as guaranteed in the Constitution of India;
4. Will work for the overall development of the poor and the marginalized;
5. Will preserve and promote social cohesion, communal harmony and cultural plurality;
6. Will genuinely address the social problems such as unemployment, discrimination against certain sections of society and religious fundamentalism;
7. Will endeavor to remove corrupt and unethical practices in all levels of society;
8. Will work for the integral development of his/her constituency, and at the same time keep the national perspective in mind;
9. Will promote true religious values and will not exploit religion for sectarian and divisive purposes.
We wish and pray that God may guide us all as we together endeavor to build a nation where freedom, fraternity and progress become a reality."
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