Criminal Candidates
Indian law does not allow those
awaiting trial to vote but there is no bar on people fighting elections
from jail if not yet convicted. The Election Commission has ordered all
candidates to clearly state in an affidavit the number of cases pending
against them.
Close to 40 per cent of Lok Sabha candidates belonging to the leading
political parties in face criminal charges that range from assault,
extortion, rioting, attempt to murder and defamation.
At least 18 people facing serious criminal charges, including the
alleged mastermind behind the leak of papers for entrance tests to
management institutes, are contesting the parliamentary elections from
Bihar.
The High Court has said that candidates with criminal records and
lodged in jail have no right to contest the elections. The fact that the
voting rights of prisoners with a criminal background are suspended
under election laws gives additional support to this new ruling.While
some of the political parties appreciate and support the High Court's
stand, there are a few others who prefer to be silent on this ruling.
The Indian Election Commission has in recent years tried to tackle the
problem of criminal politicians by making it harder for candidates with
criminal records to stand for election. But the trouble is that the
cases against many candidates have not been proved. In fact, it is hard
to find a single case of a politician being sent to jail for corruption
in independent India.
In 1997, the Election Commission issued an order requiring candidates
to submit affidavits about their convictions for any of the above
criminal offences. However there was no provision in the election law to
make this information available to the voter. The Law Commission gave
voice to the growing feeling among voters that it was not enough to
disqualify criminals found guilty by a court.
In the last general elections , it's estimated that around 1,000
candidates who were alleged to have committed a wide range of crimes
stood for election. These varied from murder, theft and rape to
extortion and banditry.
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