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Plea to President on candidates' antecedents

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI AUG. 17. A delegation of civil society groups has appealed to the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, to protect the citizen's fundamental right to know about the candidate's antecedents and requested him to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for its opinion.

The delegation consisting of eminent persons such as Justice Rajinder Sachar, Kuldip Nayar, and Jay Prakash Narayan among others, brought to the attention of the President the ``unconstitutional provisions'' of the Ordinance amending the Representation of the People Act, in particular the section that seeks to substantially nullify the judgments of the Supreme Court of May, 2002 declaring right to know the antecedents of candidates as a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution.

It also said that there was an overwhelming public opinion in the country cutting across all barriers in favour of a candidate's disclosure and electoral reforms for this and emphasised that such disclosures would also restore people's faith in democracy, a press release issued by the Voluntary Action Network India said.

The delegation called on Dr. Kalam on Friday.

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