Justify candidates with criminal record, says EC
RS ELECTIONS Order follows apex court’s verdict on fielding candidates with criminal history
NEWDELHI: The Election Commission (EC) has asked political parties to justify why they chose a candidate with a criminal history to contest an election and not one with no such antecedents.
In a letter dated March 6, ahead of the filing of nominations for elections to the 55 Rajya Sabha seats on March 26, the Commission sent out the notification to the president/general secretary/ chairperson/convener of all recognized national and statelevel political parties.
The order follows the Supreme Court verdict of February 13, wherein the apex court had made it mandatory for all political parties to make public why they had chosen candidates with criminal history to contest an election. It directed political parties to justify the candidature on the basis of merit and not “mere winnability”. The court had noted that 43% of the members of Parliament had criminal cases against them.
“Some national level parties have begun the process,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. “Whether it has been done across all states is something we will have to see. Partly, such a declaration was already being done since 2018. We have stipulated the requirements as directed by the Supreme Court.”
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told Hindustan Times that such a move will help political parties in deciding on their candidates in a better manner and make the electoral processes more robust. “Any reform in the electoral process that brings transparency and makes information available for the voter is a welcome reform,” he said. “It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court has to do this. All political parties should work together to make electoral processes robust. If we look at the data, mostly it is BJP that fields people with criminal antecedents. “
According to BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli, the move will strengthen the electoral democratic process in enabling voters to make a choice keeping all factors in mind. Responding to allegations that BJP fields most such candidates, Kohli asserted that the BJP always followed the law.
“We must recognize that basic jurisprudence states a person is innocent unless held guilty. There also has to be a distinction between genuine criminal acts and an FIR that has been lodged during the conduct of political events. Mere registration of an FIR is too early a stage to debar anybody,” he said. The move will have sweeping ramifications, in particular during assembly elections. According to the Association of Democratic Reforms ,“33 (53%) out of 62 elected MLAS from AAP {Aam Aadmi Party} and 4 (50%) out of 8 MLAS from BJP have declared criminal cases against in their affidavits”. That was a reference to the February 8 Delhi assembly elections.