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Focus on ensuring free polls instead of issues like freebies: Congress to EC
In a letter dated October 20, the opposition party also said “realisation of poll promises is a result of political will” while “outlandish promises come with an expiry date”.
New Delhi The Election Commission of India (ECI) does not have the jurisdiction to regulate a “dialectic” issue such as freebies and must focus on ensuring free and fair elections through proper implementation of laws, the Congress has told the poll body.
In a letter dated October 20, the opposition party also said “realisation of poll promises is a result of political will” while “outlandish promises come with an expiry date”.
The Congress’s statements were in response to a letter sent by the poll body to all recognised political parties earlier this month, seeking their suggestions on a proposal to amend the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and requiring parties to furnish details of “financial implications” of promises made in election manifestos.
The proposal also sought details of “ways and means” to finance the poll promises if a party was elected to power. The ECI had sought a response from the political parties on the matter by October 19.
The ECI’s letter came amid a raging debate on freebies to woo voters and welfare schemes to uplift the poor. Prime Minister Modi’s remarks on ‘revdi’ culture in July triggered the debate on freebies and also led to a political slugfest between the BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
“Freebies 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 general secretary of communications Jairam Ramesh said in the letter, a copy of which he shared on Twitter on Friday.
“Neither the Election Commission, nor the Government, nor indeed even the Courts, have jurisdiction to justiciate and regulate such issues. It would therefore be best for the Commission to desist from doing so,” he added.
The ECI is tasked with ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections, the Congress leader said. There are issues that need immediate redress than one such as this, he said. The poll body should focus 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”, he said.
Through a proposed amendment (in MCC), the poll body has sought to limit campaign promises to only those that are “possible to be fulfilled”, the Congress leader said. “...this is a wooly formulation. “Every single party will claim that their promises are enforceable and given that the requirement proposed is to give a ‘broad formation’ for how the promise will be achieved, the threshold isn’t a difficult one to clear,” he said.
Ramesh said that “realisation of poll promises is a result of political will and not a road map submitted in the manifesto”. “Outlanding promises come with an expiry date and are ultimately exposed by themselves,” he said.
The BJP has also responded to the ECI’s letter. The party 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.
The BJP also said it maintains a distinction between freebies and welfare measures and considers the former as means to allure voters, HT reported on Friday.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court is hearing a petition challenging promises of “irrational freebies” by political parties ahead of elections. It has observed that the issue concerning freebies is an important one and requires debate.
