The election manifesto should be made legally binding for political parties to ensure that they did not make grandiose claims that were forgotten soon after election, RJD’s Manoj K. Jha said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Speaking during the Zero Hour when members are allowed to raise issues of national importance, Mr. Jha lamented the declining relevance of the electoral manifesto. They were released on the eve of polling by many parties, and the commitments made were rarely kept. “This is true for political parties across the spectrum. If one were to look at the manifesto released for the 1952, 57 and 62 elections, the parties listed out things that were doable and the discussions were centred on these promises alone. But these days, the electoral campaigns are centred around hate speeches and derogatory comments,” he pointed out.
SC’s ‘no’ to plea
In 2015, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a PIL petition moved by advocate Mithilesh Kumar Pandey on the same issue. In 2013, Justice Ranjan Gogoi (who is now a Rajya Sabha member) and Justice Sadasivam said that if Indian democracy’s prestige and dignity had to be upheld, then “we should give legal shape to the manifesto and make the parties accountable”. “I urge the government and all parties to come together to decide the way forward so that elections are fought on a positive agenda and not by building walls of hatred,” Mr. Jha added.
His submission prompted Chairman Venkaiah Naidu to ask around. He asked NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, “Is it possible to make the election manifesto legally binding?”
