BENGALURU: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Karnataka High Court has sought to provide legal sanctity to political party manifestos so that it becomes mandatory for these parties to fulfil them rather than use them as a tool to lure voters. It also pleaded that political parties should fulfil the promises made, if they form the government, within the period of five years or else the political party, its leaders and its winning candidates must be punished in accordance with law for having cheated the public.
In a PIL filed by Anti Corruption Council of India, a direction has been sought from the court to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take an affidavit from the presidents of political parties and its contesting candidates in this assembly elections to the effect that the commitments and promises made in their respective manifestos be definitely fulfilled in case their party is voted to power.
A vacation division bench of Justice B Veerappa and Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav ordered emergent notice to the Chief Secretary, Election Commission of India and the presidents of Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and JD(S).
Petitioner Hussain Mueen Farooq, chairman of Anti Corruption Council of India, claimed that the politicians who won in the previous elections based on the false manifestos, are contesting again in the 2018 assembly elections. Therefore, he urged the court to issue direction to the recognised political parties restraining them from publishing of their manifestos without undertaking affidavit by the president and its candidates and without prior approval and vetting of the ECI as per the verdict of Apex Court in S Subramanian Balaji v/s Government of Tamil Nadu.