-Press Release by Delhi Forum New Delhi, 19th February, 2018: “Today it is no more the question of going back to ballot paper in elections, but it’s a must that 2019 elections be conducted through the ballot papers. EVM machines are destroying the trust between the voter and the democratic system. Democracy is too precious to be left to machines. To ensure the democratic nature of the country, the 2019 election...
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SC push for Electoral Reforms: Candidates now have to declare source of income as well
-The Indian Express The landmark order is intended to bring in more transparency in the poll process and comes ahead of elections scheduled to several states. So far, candidates only needed to reveal their income, not the sources. New Delhi: Candidates contesting polls will now have to disclose their sources of income and that of their family members. The Supreme Court on Friday allowed a petition filed by NGO Lok Prahari which...
More »CPM in SC over poll bonds
-The Telegraph New Delhi: The CPM has challenged in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the recently introduced electoral bonds, alleging that it is a "ripe way" of ensuring all kinds of quid-pro-quo arrangements by the ruling party with entities whose identities will not be up for public scrutiny. The matter came up for hearing on Friday and the Supreme Court issued a fresh notice to the Centre. The bench, headed by...
More »Education ups attendance of MPs, criminal history lowers it -Neelanjan Sircar
-Hindustan Times An analysis of parliamentarians’ attendance suggests a correlation between their regularity and the troika of moveable wealth, education, and criminality. Showing up to work is the least we can expect from our Members of Parliament (MPs). Yet, very few MPs do this with regularity — only 20% of standard (non-minister) MPs that served a full term in Lok Sabha between 2009 and 2014 attended Parliament at least 90% of the...
More »Electoral Bonds prize anonymity, you won't know who's bought them -Milan Vaishnav
-The Indian Express Far from reducing opacity in how politics is financed, this new vehicle merely legitimizes it. It is an open secret that political finance in India is, to put it mildly, a sordid affair. When it comes to political contributions, opacity reigns. The situation is not much better when it comes to expenditure, as candidates regularly declare laughably small amounts of campaign spending in order to give the appearance...
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