Election Commission gets tough on fake promises, warns political parties on ‘Rewari culture’
The Election Commission has written a letter to all political parties on Tuesday. In this letter, the ECI has cautioned the political parties not to make fake and hollow promises to their voters.
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election Commission Has written a letter to all political parties on Tuesday. In this letter, the ECI has cautioned the political parties not to make fake and hollow promises to their voters. The commission has said that whatever promises the political parties are making, they should provide authentic information. The Commission has said that the Code of Conduct Guidelines 2015 requires political parties to explain the rationale for possible ways and means of funding election promises. The Commission found that the announcements are too irregular, vague and do not provide enough information for voters to exercise informed choice in elections.
The Election Commission says that insufficient disclosure on election promises and the consequent undesirable effect on financial stability cannot be overlooked, as election promises have far-reaching implications. The Commission has prescribed minute one disclosure proforma comprehensively capturing the standard parameters used in Finance Commission, RBI, FRBM, CAG and Budget. According to the commission, the disclosure proforma is mandatory to declare the quantum of physical coverage, the financial implications of the promise and the availability of financial resources.
ECI said this by writing a letter
The objective of the ECI is to inform the voters about the financial viability of the election promises in the manifesto and also whether the State/Union is financially affordable. Chief Secretaries of States and Union Finance Secretaries at the Center to fill up the financial information on the basis of latest BE/RE in the year of General Elections. Parties to report against these fiscal norms facilitating standardization and comparability have been sought in the proforma detailing the modes of revenue generation (by way of additional tax, if any). Rationalization of expenditure (reduction in certain schemes, if necessary), impact on committed liabilities and/or further credit enhancement and impact on FRBM limits. The proforma shall be in sub-paragraph 3 (iii) of Part VIII (Guidelines on Election Manifesto) of the Model Code of Conduct.
Hollow election promises have far-reaching effects – ECI
The Election Commission feels that hollow election promises made by political parties have far-reaching implications. The Election Commission says that inadequate disclosures on election promises and the resulting undesirable effect on financial stability cannot be ignored. The Election Commission has written to political parties to provide authentic information to voters to assess the financial viability of their election promises.
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