The Law Minister said that “changing times and conditions” demand changes in some electoral laws which lack to ensure adequate transparency and accountability.
“I am already having detailed discussions with the Election Commission to study the major changes in the RP Act and other election rules. The Center will take steps after due consultation for major electoral reforms, which are necessary as per the new changing times and situation,” Rijiju said when asked whether the poll watchdog consulted the government before presenting the recent proposals. was.
To curb the use of black money in elections, the Election Commission recently wrote to the Law Ministry to amend the RP Act to limit cash donations received by parties to 20% of their total receipts.
It also proposed to reduce the disclosure limit for anonymous donations from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000. BSPDespite receiving crores in political donations, has always claimed personal donations received in excess of Rs 20,000, thus not naming the contributors.
From the remarks of the Law Minister, it emerges that the Government and the Election Commission are working on bringing about comprehensive electoral reforms, and also amending the RP Act to give the necessary legislative support to these changes.
The Election Commission’s proposal for parties to disclose how they plan to fulfill their election promises has been made by opposition parties, saying it is beyond the approval of the election panel. Calling it “another nail in the coffin of democracy”, Congress He said that “any social development plan would never have become a reality if such a bureaucratic approach had taken place”.
former law minister Kapil Sibal Terming it a U-turn, the commission had filed an affidavit in the apex court stating that it would stay out of the freebie debates, which are currently under the consideration of the court. “Maybe the Election Commission itself needs a model code of conduct,” Sibal said.
In order to strengthen the model code of conduct on the promises made in the election manifesto, the Election Commission on Tuesday issued a letter to the Presidents/Presidents of all political parties along with a two-page proforma. The commission had given October 19 as the last date for the parties to send their responses.
The Election Commission also referred to a 2015 Supreme Court judgment where it had asked the commission to prepare detailed guidelines for parties as part of the model code. Already, the existing relevant EC guidelines say: “… indicate the ways and means. For this, the confidence of the electorate should be sought only on those promises which are possible to be fulfilled.
However, in its latest communication to the parties, the Commission has observed that “it has been found that the announcements are too routine, vague and do not provide sufficient information for the voters to exercise an informed choice in the election.”