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In a letter written to the parties, the Election Commission has proposed that from now on the financial details of the freebies given as election promises should be provided by the recognized political parties in India.
In the letter, it was mentioned that the details of the funds used for the free programs announced in the election promises made by the political parties are not fully disclosed. It further stated that although it is the individual right of political parties to make election promises, the Election Commission cannot keep an eye on the impact of such promises among the electorate.
The Election Commission has asked political parties to submit their comments on the proposal by October 19.
A few months ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the culture of giving freebies is dangerous for the country’s development and the people of India, especially the youth, should be careful about this culture of giving freebies. Following this, debates arose as to whether the state parties were providing free or welfare schemes.
Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay of the Bharatiya Janata Party had also filed a public interest petition in the Supreme Court asking that political parties should be banned from giving freebies. The Supreme Court said that freebies should be discussed during the hearing of the case.
The Supreme Court had made a bold comment that if the Election Commission could not control such announcements, then why? It also ordered the formation of a committee to discuss the matter.
‘Creating Embarrassment’
In this case, the Election Commission has proposed such a suggestion. Former Chief Election Commissioner S. Oi. Qureshi told BBC Tamil.
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“The Supreme Court has said that the Election Commission should hold consultations with the political parties on this issue and formulate the procedures for this. In fact, the Supreme Court said that a committee should be set up to discuss the issue, in which the political parties and the Election Commission can express their views. But the Election Commission is a constitution. The Election Commission has said that it is a body established by law and therefore cannot involve itself in such a committee. On the contrary, it has given this proposal.”
“Currently, it is in the discussion stage. The Election Commission has developed a formal proposal form for this, through which the views of the political parties have been welcomed. Initially, the Election Commission wanted to stay away from this issue because the Election Commission has no expertise in this matter.
Parliament’s job is to check whether the election promises have been fulfilled and the budget for this. Parliament did not even discuss this. This is a dangerous matter for the Election Commission itself. Dragging the Election Commission into political affairs creates embarrassment for the Commission,” says Qureshi.
What is the position of political parties?
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Communist Party of India have rejected the Election Commission’s proposal.
In a statement released by the Communist Party of India, the Election Commission has no authority to interfere in the policies of political parties. Such a proposal is an act of contempt for the Constitution and an act of suppressing the rights of political parties.
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General Secretary of the Communist Party of India D. Raja
General Secretary of the Communist Party of India D. Speaking to BBC Tamil, Raja said, “The Election Commission should not tell political parties what to do. Before making such proposals, we should ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who promised 2 crore jobs and 15 lakhs to every citizen in the previous election. ” he says.
Also, Raja says it is the duty of Parliament to introduce such schemes. “The function of the Election Commission is to conduct free and fair elections and to ensure equal opportunity to political parties during elections. It is not to interfere in the policies of political parties.
“If any policy on elections is defined, it should come through Parliament and not through the Election Commission,” concluded Raja.
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