NEW DELHI, India: Criminalization of politics, according to the comments in a section of the Indian Press, safest of life today in the state of Bihar.
Elections are only an instrument for legitimizing the criminality of politics, says The Times of India, adding that muscle power has become part of the electoral process and money and caste play a key role.
The scenario, the newspaper says, has evolved since 1967 elections which were a watershed in the post-independence history of the state .A unique Bihari phenomenon “booth capturing” hit the election scene. The violence witnessed in the 1967 poll was only 2 foretaste of what was repeated in subsequent elections until the State Assembly poll of 1985, when the Chief Election Commissioner observed that if this trend of violence continued, it would be impossible to ensure free and fair elections in Bihar.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 8, 1986
