NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has created a separate cell dedicated to deal with matters pertaining to the criminal antecedents of candidates, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order on the issue. The poll panel has mandated that candidates as well as the concerned political parties issue a declaration in the media about their criminal background.
The poll panel has come up with a mobile application named ‘Know Your Candidate’, containing information regarding the criminal backgrounds as declared by candidates. Moreover, a dedicated fund has been created for voters’ awareness campaigns and to make available the criminal history of the contesting candidates to the general public. Any fine imposed by the apex court on political parties regarding non-compliance of its orders will be deposited to the above fund.
Earlier, on August 10, the Supreme Court had said that parties will have to publish information regarding the criminal antecedents of candidates—including detailed information on the nature of the offences, relevant particulars such as whether charges have been framed, the concerned court, the case number, etc.—on the homepage of their websites, along with the reasons for their selection and why other individuals could not be given tickets instead. They also need to write to the EC within 48 hours of selection of such a candidate.
The reasons as to selection must be with reference to the qualifications, achievements and merit of the candidate concerned, not mere winnability at polls. This information also needs to be published in one local vernacular newspaper and one national newspaper as well as on the official social media platforms of the political party, including Facebook and Twitter.
To help voters make an informed choice, the Election Commission has now prescribed a certain timeline to publish the details of criminal antecedents: within the first four days of withdrawal of nomination, between the 5th and 8th day, and from the 9th day till the last day of campaign.
Pressure to postpone Punjab polls by few days
Both the Congress and the BJP have urged the EC to postpone the Punjab Assembly polls slated for February 14 in view of the Guru Ravidas Jayanti on February 16. The Congress suggested that the polls be held six days later