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ECI has no jurisdiction to regulate issues related to poll promises: Congress
The Congress issued the statement in response to a letter sent by ECI to all recognised political parties, seeking their suggestions on a proposal to amend the Model Code of Conduct, which will require parties to furnish details of “financial implications” of promises made in election manifestos
The Congress on Friday told the Election Commission of India (ECI) that the polling agency has no jurisdiction to regulate a “dialectic” issue such as offering freebies during election campaigns and that the commission must refrain from doing so.
It said that election promises written in manifestos are a way that best reflect a party’s ideology, and “outlandish” promises come with an expiry date.
“They are part of the dialectics of a vibrant democratic system. They are relatable to the give-and-take thrust of politics. They depend on the wisdom, the discernment and analysis of the electorate which should never be taken to be less than acute,” Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said in his letter to the ECI.
The party issued the statement in response to a letter sent by ECI to all recognised political parties, seeking their suggestions on a proposal to amend the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which will require parties to furnish details of “financial implications” of promises made in election manifestos.
The proposal also sought details of “ways and means” to finance poll promises if a party was elected to power.
The ECI had sought the response from parties by October 19.
Also Read:We focus on welfarism, not freebies: BJP to EC
In their letter, the Congress said that providing a roadmap on how poll promises will be achieved is a “redundant exercise” and a difficult one to achieve.
“Every single party will claim that their promises are enforceable and given that the requirement proposed is to give a “broad formulation” for how the promise will be achieved the threshold isn’t a difficult one to clear,” Ramesh said.
Pointing out Part VIII of the MCC for the Guidance of Political Parties and Candidates, 2015, the Congress said it warrants making campaign promises in a responsible manner.
The party also questioned the ways ECI can ensure the enforceability of poll promises by political parties. “How does it ensure that these promises are met? Can it disqualify the party? Can it disqualify select candidates? Can it go to court by way of a writ to demand enforcement?” he asked, adding that the entire act is “futile”.
Ramesh said that his party assured a number of promises including MGNREGA, the land acquisition act, the right to food act, the right to education act and the right to information act and they all became a reality.
“The fact is that political parties need to be able to write their manifestos in a language that best expresses their ideologies. And it is disingenuous to say that you must ensure that you provide a detailed roadmap of how exactly the promise will be delivered,” the letter said.
The grand old party also pointed out other issues such as the ban on invoking armed forces for political campaigns, misuse of official agents, violation of MCC, campaigning by the prime minister during prohibited hours, among others, for immediate redressal.
“These are the issues in our opinion the ECI should be focusing on, issues which ensure that the massively irregular tilt in favour of the ruling party is corrected, or it risks becoming an entity to police solely the opposition,” the letter stated.
The ECI’s letter to political parties earlier this month came amid a raging debate on freebies to woo voters and welfare schemes to uplift the poor.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks in July on the ‘revdi’ culture triggered a debate on freebies and also led to a political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The BJP in its response on Thursday said that it seeks to empower voters and enhance their capacity for their overall development, and not merely focus on short-term measures such as freebies to allure voters ahead of elections. It said the party maintains a distinction between freebies and welfare measures and considers the former as means to allure voters.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) too opposed to the proposed changes by the ECI and termed it as an “encroachment” upon the powers of the Parliament and political parties. The Left pointed out that apart from seeking votes in the name of religion, language or by promoting enmity, MCC doesn’t dictate an incumbent government and opposition in matters of policy.
