ADR organised a webinar on “Lawbreakers being the lawmakers: A paradox in Indian democracy” on 26th March 2025.

Press Release: https://groups.google.com/g/national-election-watch/c/SoSdV2FFNHc?hl=en 

Webinar Coverage:

1. Press Trust of India (PTI): Congress MP Gogoi calls for greater public awareness on criminal backgrounds of poll candidates
2. Navbharat Times (By TOI): क्रिमिनल बैकग्राउंड वाले उम्मीदवारों को लेकर चिंतित गौरव गोगोई, कहा- मतदाताओं को जागरूक होने की जरूरत
3. News Point App (By TOI Group): Lawbreakers As Lawmakers? ADR’s Webinar Explores Indian Democracy And Political Crisis
4. Amar Ujala: ADR: राजनीति में दागियों के बोलबाले पर हुआ मंथन, एडीआर के वेबिनार में पूर्व सीईसी समेत विशेषज्ञों ने रखी राय
5. The Week: Congress MP Gogoi calls for greater public awareness on criminal backgrounds of poll candidates
6. The Print: Congress MP Gogoi calls for greater public awareness on criminal backgrounds of poll candidates
7. The Telegraph: Modi government using ‘unaccounted’ cash discovery to control Judge appointments, says Prashant Bhushan
8. Navbharat Media: इतना आसान नहीं है अपराधी किस्म के राजनेताओं को चुनाव लड़ने से रोकना और सजा दिलाना
9. NavRashtra (NavBharat Media's Marathi platform): ADR वेबिनारचे आयोजन; भारतीय निवडणुकीत गुन्हेगारी प्रवृत्तीच्या वाढीवर चर्चा
10. Devdiscourse: Clean Politics: Gogoi's Call for Voter Awareness on Candidates' Criminal Backgrounds
11. Latestly: India News | Congress MP Gogoi Calls for Greater Public Awareness on Criminal Backgrounds of Poll Candidates

Watch the webinar here:

1. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RqgXeKoE8s 
2. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1332595974640777​ 
3. ​LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7308442049962201089/comments/ 

For the agenda of the webinar, please click here.

The focus points for the webinar were as follows:
1.    Curbing the rising number of legislators with criminal cases: Who will bell the cat? Executive or Judiciary?
2.    Does repeated election of tainted politicians adversely affect good governance?
3.    Is the Indian voter unaffected by the tainted background of politicians?
4.    Lifetime ban or disqualification for 10 or 15 years for convicted politicians: which is appropriate?  
5.    Slew of Supreme Court judgements such as fast track courts, trial to be completed within a year, publication of criminal cases details by candidate and political parties in media, etc, as also recommendations of various committees/commissions have been unable to bring about reform. Is there a way forward or will voters/citizens remain captives of the current duplicitous system wherein the rules of the game are different for the politicians and common citizens?

Moderator: Maj Gen Anil Verma (Retd)
Speakers: 
1.    Dr S.Y. Quraishi (former Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India)
2.    Shri Gaurav Gogoi (Member of Parliament & Deputy Leader of Indian National Congress in Lok Sabha)
3.    Ms Kavita Srivastava (President, People's Union for Civil Liberties)
4.    Shri Ruben Mascarenhas (Working President, Aam Aadmi Party-Mumbai)
5.    Shri Prashant Bhushan (Senior Lawyer, Supreme Court of India)