Hyderabad, Oct 13 (PTI) BJP MP Varun Gandhi today termedthe Election Commission as a "toothless tiger" which, he said,has never derecognised any political party for not submittingpoll expenditure details within the stipulated time.
Gandhi also said political parties spend a lot on pollcampaign, denying opportunity to people from humble backgroundto contest elections.
His remarks come even as the BJP is under oppositionattack for "pressuring" the Election Commission to not declareelections to the Gujarat Assembly with those for HimachalPradesh legislature. The Congress has accused the BJP of using"shameless pressure tactics" with the EC so it could woo thevoters in Gujarat with last-minute sops.
"One of the biggest problems is the problem of theElection Commission which is really a toothless tiger. Article324 of the Constitution says it (EC) controls and superviseselections. But does it really do that?"It does not have the power to file cases once electionsare over. It has to go to the Supreme Court to do so," VarunGandhi said while delivering a lecture on "Political Reformsin India" at the NALSAR University of Law here.
He said the poll panel has never derecognised anypolitical party for not filing the poll expenditure report ontime.
"Though all political parties file late returns, onlyone political party belonging to the late PA Sangma (NPP) wasderecognised for not filing returns on time, and thecommission revoked the same a day after it filed theexpenditure report," said Gandhi who represents Sultanpur seatin Uttar Pradesh.
He said the budget allocated for the poll panel for the2014 Lok Sabha election stood at Rs 594 crore while there are814 million voters in the country.
In contrast, the budget was double in Sweden which has avoter base of seven million, he said.
Gandhi acknowledged the excessive influence of moneypower in the electoral system and cited some examples.
He said it has become virtually impossible for peoplefrom poor and middle class background to contest elections toParliament and state assemblies.
Noting that political parties spend large amounts ofmoney on poll campaign, the BJP leader said, "Technically, anMLA (candidate) can spend between Rs 20 and Rs 28 lakh and anMP (aspirant) Rs 54-Rs 70 lakh. But you are not told thatpolitical parties spend unlimited amounts on elections...It isa skewed form of political expenditure which ensures that nomiddle class or poor people can fight elections anymore".
He expressed confidence that political parties willinevitably move towards transparency.
"....It may take five years...It may take 10 years...Iam very optimistic," Gandhi added. PTI VVK GDK NSKSK.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.