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| Tuesday, 2 December 2003 |
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Poll candidates forced to declare assets, criminal cases NEW DELHI, Monday (AFP) In the weeks leading up to Monday's state polls in Delhi, newspapers have published intimate details of election candidates - how many cars they own, how much jewellery their wives wear and the size of their bank accounts. It is all due to new rules in India which have for the first time forced those standing for election to declare their assets and criminal cases against them. Candidates have to file a detailed affidavit with the district authorities spelling out the amount of money they have in the bank, in cash or in shares. They have to give details of any land or buildings owned, jewellery, loans taken, educational qualifications and criminal cases pending against them. Each candidate must also declare the assets of their spouse and children. Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh has described the new rules as "a striptease act, where you take off everything and expose yourself entirely." They were designed to help the voters choose who to vote for in a more informed manner, said deputy election commissioner A.N. Jha. "They were needed because of what seemed to be the increasingly large number of people with criminal backgrounds entering politics," he told AFP. Currently anyone convicted of certain crimes, including if the sentence is two years in prison or more, is disqualified from public office. But a pending criminal case is no bar to standing for election. The powerful Supreme Court in May 2002 ordered that candidates had to disclose their assets and criminal backgrounds. Political parties opposed the ruling and the government nullified the order. But in March this year the Supreme Court again issued the ruling and it will now apply in all state and general elections. It is being implemented fully for the first time in Monday's polls in four states - Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. It was also in force in elections in the tiny northeastern state of Mizoram on November 20. |
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