The Ninth Annual National Conference on Electoral & Political Reforms, inaugurated by social activist Ms. Aruna Roy and eminent journalist Mr. Kumar Ketkar, concluded on March 24th, 2013. This two-day Conference was attended by Election Watch groups of more than 22 States, various NGOs and activists, eminent citizens, media personalities, representatives of major political parties and other Stakeholders from all over the country.
Dynamic discussions on various facets of Electoral and Political Reforms were carried out over the two day long conference. Issues such as Panchayat Elections, People's movements and elections, Money power in politics, Role of Minorities and Marginalized in Elections, Media and Malpractises during Elections were discussed by the delegates and panelists over 6 different sessions.
Need for a law to regularize Political Parties was put forth by panelists and delegates. Representatives of political parties also agreed with the house on plethora of issues under inner party democracy and financial transparecny. The draft bill on Registrations and regulation of affairs of Political Parties, drafted by a committee Chaired by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India was also discussed at the conference. You can find the bill in Hindi, English and Gujarati HERE
The conference was concluded by Chief Election Commissioner Mr. V. S. Sampath who strongly felt the need for a full-fledged law for the regulation of Political Parties. He reassured the house by enumerating steps that have been undertaken to contain the evils of Booth Capturing and vulgar Muscle-power. He stressed upon substantial steps that the Election Commission of India is currently taking to curb the role of Money Power in elections.
The Ninth Annual National Conference was preceeded by a Press Conference in which following documents were published:
Election Watch Reports:
1. Comparative Analysis of sitting of Rajasthan State Assembly with other state assemblies and Lok Sabha (English)
2. Analysis of Financial Assets of Council of Ministers of Rajasthan (English) (Hindi)
3. Comparison of Rajasthan Ministers' Immovable Assets (Summary Sheet)-(English) (Hindi)
4. Comparison of Rajasthan Ministers' Immovable Assets (Detailed) - (English) (Hindi)
Political Party Watch Reports:
1. Analysis of donations receieved by Political Parties of Rajasthan (English) (Hindi)
2. Analysis of Income Tax Returns filed by Political Parties of Rajasthan (English) (Hindi)
Following documents were distributed in the Resource Kit for the Conference to delegates and panelists:
Election Watch documents:
1. Criminal and Financial background of current Rajasthan MLAs (Rajasthan Election Watch 2008) - (English) (Hindi)
2. Criminal and Financial background of current Rajasthan MPs - (English) (Hindi)
3. FAQ on Rule 49-O, Right to Reject and None of the above - (English) (Hindi)
4. FAQ on Election Petition and Election Expenses (English) (Hindi)
5. High level summary of criminal records of candidates, MPs and MLAs of last 5 years elections (English) (Hindi)
6. Candidates, MPs and MLAs who declared charges under Prevention of Corruption Act in elections of last 5 years (English) (Hindi)
7. Candidates, MPs and MLAs who have declared charges of crimes against women including rape in elections of last 5 years (English) (Hindi)
8. Women representation among all MPs and MLAs in elections of last 5 years (English) (Hindi)
9. Why MPs IT Returns should be made public (English) (Hindi)
Political Party Watch documents:
1. Financial Details of National and Regional Political Parties (English)
2. FAQ on Donations received by Political Parties (English) (Hindi)
3. FAQ on Income Tax Returns of Political Parties (English) (Hindi)
4. Table on status of information to be available on Political Party websites (English) (Hindi)
5. Why should Political Parties be declared as Public Authorities (summary of complaint filed in CIC) - (English) (Hindi)
Press Release for March 23rd, 2013 (English) (Hindi)
Press Release for March 24th, 2013 (English) (Hindi)
Press Coverage of the conference can be found HERE