Recently, the Commission had proposed that political parties furnish affidavit stating that they have not defaulted on dues on account of usages of public utilities. It has asked the law ministry to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951, so that such defaulters can be barred from contesting Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. A new clause will have to be inserted therein for disqualification “on the ground of being a defaulter of public dues”. In March 2016, when the EC had met political parties to discuss electoral reforms, it was told that the ‘no dues certificate’ for candidates was leading to corruption as bribes were being allegedly paid to obtain it. Recently, the Commission had proposed that political parties, as a pre-condition for fielding candidates, furnish affidavit stating that they have not defaulted on dues on account of usages of public utilities.

Source: Mint March 05, 2017 09:15 UTC