The Hindu : Parliament must take lead in poll reforms: Speaker

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 21, 2002

Front Page

Front Page

Parliament must take lead in poll reforms: Speaker

By Our Special Correspondent

The Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi (third from left) and the Deputy Speaker, P.M. Sayeed, with presiding officers and secretaries of Assemblies in front of the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on Thursday, ahead of an all-India conference. -- Photo: K.Bhagya Prakash

Bangalore June 20. The Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi, has asked the Centre to act on the May 2 judgment of the Supreme Court making it incumbent on those contesting elections to furnish their assets and liabilities, educational qualifications and criminal antecedents.

Inaugurating the 65th All-India Conference of Presiding Officers, he said it was widely felt that criminalisation of politics and entry of criminal elements into the electoral fray were a grave danger to democracy. The Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to come up with norms for candidates within two months. The commission had asked the Centre to amend the rules and nomination papers for candidates contesting elections to Parliament and the State legislatures. ``Action has to be taken by the Government as approved by Parliament to check all forms of electoral malpractices, including criminalisation of politics''.

Mr. Joshi warned that if the Government failed to initiate necessary action, the vacuum created would be filled by the judiciary. In the larger interest of harmonious relations among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, it had become imperative for Parliament to give the lead in respect of electoral reforms as well.

He expressed concern over the increasing voter apathy and called for consideration of compulsory voting which is in force in Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Luxembourg.

The Speaker asked the Legislatures to set up Ethics Committees expeditiously as had been done in Parliament and the legislatures of Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Orissa. It was at a symposium in Shimla in October 1997, that a resolution was adopted to constitute Ethics Committees in legislative bodies.

It was imperative that the highest standards of probity were maintained by everyone in public life. The Lok Sabha had adopted the first report of the Ethics Committee which had gone into the procedure for lodging complaints about unethical conduct of members in the House or those connected with financial disclosures and declaration of interests.

He was unhappy that although the rule for automatic suspension of members for indecorous behaviour had been adopted by the Lok Sabha (Rule 374A) on the recommendation of the Rules Committee, the House still witnessed such behaviour. The situation was alarming but he favoured voluntary compliance by the members.

Welcoming the gathering, the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly, M.V. Venkatappa, noted that it was in Mysore that the country's first representative body was set up in 1881 thanks to the initiative of Dewan C. Rangacharlu. Even the British provinces of those days did not enjoy that luxury. Mr.Venkatappa also said that the Houses of Legislature were becoming unmanageable. Sheer lung power had overcome reasoned arguments and the casualty was public interest. A stage in which the marshal of the House became more relevant than the presiding officer should be avoided.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

We'll consider Hurriyat proposal: Fernandes

BJP against allowing Hurriyat leaders to visit Pak.

Parliament must take lead in poll reforms: Speaker

Pak. ordinance to regulate 'madrassas'

Big powers' stand reduced tension: Advani

India signs extradition treaty with Spain

Qazi new Pak. envoy to U.S.

Rise in grain offtake

Scare in Washington

Bofors case: CVC, CBI to move SC