Lok Sabha Election Info

The 15th Lok Sabha elections are round the corner. They will be held in five phases from April 16 to May 13.
I was looking up information on the elections and found the following information. Readers (read voters) mind find them useful.

You can find information regarding the candidates standing for election and other useful information (like the symbols used for political parties etc) on the official website of Election Commission of India. ( http://eci.nic.in/ )

The list of candidates can be found at
http://eci.nic.in/candidateinfo/frmcandidate.aspx

The list of candidates for the four constituencies in Bangalore (North, South, Rural, Central) is not finalized since the last date (8 April 2009) for withdrawal of candidature for phase 2B of the elections is not yet over. Election in Bangalore (Phase 2B) will be held on 23 April, 2009.

The candidate lists for constituencies in Kerala (Phase 1) are already available. Elections in Kerala will be on 16 April, 2009.

One important document is the Voter's Guide : http://eci.nic.in/ECI_voters_guideline_2006.pdf

Some more information is available on the National Portal of India ( http://india.gov.in/ ). Currently its spotlight is on the 2009 Elections.
http://india.gov.in/spotlight/spotlight.php

Some FAQs :
On the election process : http://www.india.gov.in/allimpfrms/alldocs/11945.pdf
On the Electronic Voting Machine : http://www.india.gov.in/allimpfrms/alldocs/11946.pdf


Lastly, Google has stated that it will host a website for the elections : http://www.google.co.in/loksabha2009
The website is already functional. No idea about the authenticity of the information it provides.


Happy Voting..!!!

Be innovative and escape the law...

I was going through articles under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.

Article 11 is interesting...!!!

Article 11

1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

So if you want to commit some 'crime' that has not yet been banned/ termed illegal by the law, you can commit the same and get away with it, even if the government declares the act to be a crime later on. So if you can be innovative, you can escape the law.

People who lived during the formative years of the constitution probably had more freedom in the aspect. They just had to complete the act before the law prohibiting the act is put in place.


Even now, you get a sort of a notice period before something is banned.
Here is how - Any new law has to be passed both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. This typically takes at least a few days. Any person who keeps him/herself well informed about the current affairs will get wind of a new law in the offing. Then this bill has to be approved by the President and then published in the gazette before it becomes a law. This takes at least a few week.
All in all, you get ample amount of time to finish your acts (!!) before it is prohibited.