HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Hyderabad High Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India to respond to the PIL filed seeking directions to the authorities concerned to take steps ensuring that the political parties stick to their promises made in the election manifestos.
The bench was dealing with the PIL filed by M Narayana Charyulu, chartered accountant from the city, seeking implementation of the Supreme Court judgment in Subramanyam Balaji case of the year 2013 directing the ECI to formulate guidelines to ensure a ‘level playing field’ between the contesting parties.
The petitioner’s counsel told the court that at present neither the election commission nor the Central government has any control to see that these political parties were accountable to the promises made to the public. “They have been luring public for their greed for power with tall promises... The irresponsibility, unaccountability and callousness of these parties have cost a lot the general public of the State,” he noted.
The bench directed the ECI to place all details regarding the issues raised by the petitioner, and posted the matter to Monday for further hearing.
TJS submits copy of manifesto
Meanwhile, a delegation of Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) led by its spokesperson Venkat Reddy submitted a copy of their manifesto to the State CEO Rajat Kumar. The party is reportedly the first party to comply with EC guidelines.