Round Table Conference on Decriminalization of Politics
5th April, 2013 A Round Table Conference was organized today, April 5, 2013, by Public Interest Foundation on the subject of Decriminalization of Politics. Public Interest Foundation has already filed a PIL before the Hon’ble Supreme Court along with Common Cause, Transparency International and Gandhian Satyagraha Brigade seeking direction by the judiciary to the Government [...]
Urgent need for political party reforms
An RTI application unearthed the fact that only 8% of 1,196 registered political parties have submitted annual reports regarding contributions above Rs 20,000 to the Election Commission. And only 15% have submitted their audited financial statements! Political party reforms are critical in the context of electoral reforms and need to be addressed urgently. The only [...]
Make parties accountable
The only reference to political parties in the Indian Constitution is in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution incorporated, which deals with the disqualification of a person for being a member of either House of Parliament or the Legislative Assembly/Council on grounds of defection. The Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951, makes it mandatory for [...]