Step up electoral reforms: CEC to govt

New Delhi: Citing criminalisation of politics as a major drawback, Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon on Thursday asked the Government to expedite work on the 22-point electoral reforms agenda "at least in parts" to rid the body politics of money and muscle power.

"Criminals are contesting elections going by the composition of legislatures. We should curb this since it is playing a role", the CEC told PTI pointing out that EC's electoral reforms proposals were pending with the government.

Criminalisation of politics tops the EC's reforms agenda.

"If all the 22 proposals cannot be implemented, at least they should be done in parts", said Tandon, who would be demitting office next month. He would be writing to the government afresh emphasising the need to implement them in order to cleanse the electoral system of money and muscle power.

Besides criminalisation of politics, the Commission has suggested measures to increase security deposit of candidates, restriction on the number of seats from which one may contest and prohibition of surrogate advertisements in print media.

Asked if the Commission wanted legal backup to some of its proposals for reforms, the CEC said "certainly... and the most important of them has to be ways to control criminal elements in the body politics".

On whether the Commission feels that the model code of conduct should have legal sanction, Tandon was of the view that it had been devised by political parties and it was a time-tested mechanism. It was being observed by most of the political parties, he said.

On state funding of elections, a proposal mooted by the government recently, he said that it would only partially help cleanse the poll process.

"This would not do away money power...it would partially help as there is no limit on spendings by political parties, even though there is a ceiling on expenditure by the candidates", he said adding "our stress is to ensure minimising money power".

Tandon said that electoral reforms were "absolutely necessary" and the political system needed them.