Suggest main political reform to strengthen democracy
Answers
1. Legal constitutional changes i.e. the laws play an important role in political reform. But laws alone cannot help in political reforms. Therefore, democratic reforms need to be carried out mainly by political activists, parties, movements and conscious citizens in order to bring a political as well as social change.
2. Any legal change must carefully look at the results it will have on politics because often these results may prove to be counter-productive. Certain laws that seek to ban something may have a negative impact. For example - many states have banned people who have more than two children from contesting elections. This has denied opportunity to the poor and the women which were not intended. Therefore, the framing of policies and their consequences need to be studied in detail before any proper implementation.
3. Laws need to be extended in the right direction and supplement the existing laws in order to improve the effectiveness of laws. For example - the Right to Information Act is a powerful tool in keeping the government in check and thereby acts as watchdogs of democracy. Such a law also helps in the empowerment of the people in participating in democratic reforms.
4. Democratic reforms are to be brought about principally through political practice since the main focus of political reforms should be on ways to strengthen democratic practice, increasing and improving the quality of political participation by ordinary citizens.
5. Democratic measures that focus on issues highlighted by democratic movements, citizens' organizations, and media are likely to succeed. Proposals for reforms also need to focus on the entire process of implementation as well as the good solution to a particular problem.
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