The central government will make an appropriate decision after due consultation for major electoral reforms, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) proposing various changes in the processes and rules, union law minister Kiren Rijiju told CNN-News18 on Thursday.
The poll panel has proposed to supplement the existing Model Code of Conduct (MCC) guidelines and mandate political parties to inform voters about the financial consequences of their promises in the manifesto against well-defined quantifiable parameters.
The law minister’s office earlier in the day tweeted, “The Centre will take steps after due consultation for major electoral reforms which are required as per the new changing time and situation.”
CNN-News18 has learnt that 70-80 proposals, seeking to “overhaul the way elections happen in India”, including changes to The Representation of the People Act, have been sent by the Election Commission to the union government. Top government functionaries told CNN-News18 that multiple rounds of meetings on these proposals have happened in the past few weeks and the EC is now making last-minute changes after the law ministry gave its opinion.
CNN-News18 has also learnt that some of the proposed changes include voting rights for NRIs, option of online voting, impersonation and transferable vote rules, and amendments to rules governing exit and opinion polls.
“The law should also be amended so that decisions on electoral challenges come in a time-bound manner. The plea becomes infructuous if it is decided 10 years later. By then the term of the legislature is over,” a source said while elaborating on proposed reforms. The government has suggested, sources said, that such judicial pronouncements should be given in 2-3 months.
Government officials said that “one nation, one poll” is not part of the reforms being proposed at this stage. “That will take time since it needs wider consultation,” a senior government functionary said. On Aadhaar linkage with electoral rolls, officials said it is being kept voluntary but is “strongly encouraged”.
Electoral law amendments could include a definition of freebies and what is allowed.
The EC had approached the law ministry on the need to define freebies since the Supreme Court left the matter undecided, the sources said.
Officials said that a committee with members from Niti Aayog, Law Commission, and Election Commission could be set up to define freebies.
“Cash benefits or compensation at the time of a calamity is a freebie? Should it be seen in the same vein as free electricity and water? These are questions that must be debated and answers found,” a source said. He elaborated that the union government is of the view that freebies that put a burden on the exchequer should be discouraged.
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