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Ban leaders facing possible conviction from contesting poll: Gill

The Election Commission, in a bid to fight the criminalisation of politics, has suggested to the Union government to ban from contesting elections, people facing formal trial in courts and possible conviction to serve a prison term of at least five years.

Disclosing this to the media, Chief Election Commissioner M S Gill said it was up to Parliament to enact a suitable legislation in this connection.

Gill admitted that the EC had, in the past, allowed persons convicted by lower courts to contest elections on the ground that they had appealed against the judgments. This is no longer the case. The EC has already made it mandatory for all candidates fighting elections to give an affidavit stating that they were not convicted in any case, he pointed out.

''We have made this new suggestion since there is a feeling that conviction takes a long time,'' he added.

Asserting that the suggestion did not violate the right of representation guaranteed under the Constitution, Gill said this could come within the purview of the reasonable restrictions of this right.

Asked about his earlier suggestion regarding neutral governance in states where assembly elections were due, he said he would continue to float the idea since the parties in the opposition are always complaining of misuse of official machinery by those in power.

Assembly polls are due in nine states in the next one year. ''If my suggestion for neutral governance is implemented, the ruling party in these states will step down after the announcement of elections and the EC will have to deal with a lesser number of complaints,'' he added.

Asked if all the parties would have equal faith in the governor's rule under which elections would be held, he said this should not not be impossible. If the central vigilance commissioner could be appointed by a composite committee, the governors could also be chosen likewise, he said.

A few key political leaders, including former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha and former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav are facing trial in corruption cases.

UNI

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