Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Saturday said that he is in favour of political party funding through cheques, declaration of assets by them and their auditing through Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
Also on the cards is a move to ban government advertisements six months before the elections as "some of these are nothing but political advertisements", Quraishi said.
These are just some of the many reforms the Election Commission and the Union Law Ministry intends to bring in the poll process, he told reporters at the Judicial Academy during the Regional Consultation for Electoral reforms.
The CEC said the general perception among political parties and the media was that EC has failed in its duties by not debarring criminals. But it was for Parliament to act in this direction, he added.
Quoting existing laws, he said a candidate could contest the election unless convicted by the last court of appeal. "The entire process may take 20 to 30 years," Quraishi said, adding the path had to be treaded carefully as the possibility of a political party using the tool of implication as a shortcut to victory could not be ruled out.
The CEC and Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who was also present, said criminals should be debarred from contesting the polls, money power to be checked and the management of finance by political parties to be done in a more transparent manner.
The CEC and Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who was also present, said criminals should be debarred from contesting the polls, money power to be checked and the management of finance by political parties to be done in a more transparent manner.