VIJAYAWADA: Citizens For Democracy (CFD) organised a round table meeting here on Saturday on ‘Free and Fair Elections - Challenges and Corrupt Practices’, where the speakers expressed concern over the brazen deployment of money power in particular, making a mockery of the expenditure limits set by the Election Commission of India.
The ability to spend has become a key determinant in the selection of candidates, and posed a threat to democratic polity, they said and observed that the failure of the ECI to rein in political parties and candidates as was effectively done in the Seshan era, was clearly visible.
The members expressed grave concern over volunteers openly donning political colours and unashamedly canvassing for the ruling party unchecked, which has emerged as the most serious threat to free and fair elections in the State.
PK Dash, the first Director General, Expenditure, ECI, in his keynote address, recounted the framework created by the ECI under his aegis to face the challenges of abuse of money power when the need for enabling provisions was not foreseen by the Representation of the People Act as well as IPC.
Notwithstanding the above, he recounted four cases where successful candidates were disqualified two of them being former Chief Ministers of Jharkhand and Maharashtra He expressed serious concern over the social media proliferation, which poses a great challenge.
Ramesh Kumar, Secretary of CFD, concurred with Dash that the electoral bonds scheme was a failed experiment.