Elections under Emergency

Elections under Emergency S V Kogekar WELCOME as the decision to hold elections to the Lok Sabha is, the democratic process which finds its most visible expression in a general election is under considerable constraint on account of the continuance of the emergency. The fundamental rights to civil liberties are still under suspension and the doors of the courts to secure their enforcement remain closed. Press censorship has been relaxed and election meetings can be held without special permission from the guardians of law and order and to that extent the rigour of the emergency has, no doubt, been reduced. But the government is still armed with all the extraordinary powers secured since the declaration of emergency and it is entirely a matter of its discretion, whether and to what extent to use those powers. The recent statement from on high that the current rise in prices is due to increased indiscipline consequent on the relaxation of emergency restrictions