New Delhi, March 15: The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that a parliamentary standing committee had in 2004 rejected its proposal to restrict candidates from simultaneously contesting more than one seat to avoid any additional burden on the exchequer.
The commission also said it had proposed that a candidate be asked to pay Rs 10 lakh if he contested from more than one parliamentary seat in the same election and Rs 5 lakh in case of an Assembly seat.
Both these proposals, made in July 2002, were turned down.
In an affidavit filed before the apex court on Friday, the commission said the standing committee had remarked that an all-party meeting in May 1998 had "decided to retain the present provision of allowing" candidates to contest from two constituencies of the "same nature".
The commission further said that till date it had not got any response from the government on making those who contest from more than one seat to at least bear a part of the expenses involved in contesting from the second seat.
The poll panel's affidavit came in the backdrop of a public interest petition that sought a directive to the government and the commission to bar a candidate from contesting more than one seat in the same election.
The petition said it puts an unnecessary financial burden on taxpayers because in case a candidate wins from both seats, he has to vacate one, necessitating a byelection.
A bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, while taking on record the affidavit, adjourned the matter and asked the petitioner, H.K. Naik, and the government to respond to the commission's stand by four weeks.
The commission's counsel, Amit Sharma, said that since Section 33(7) of the Representation of Peoples Act allows a candidate to contest from two seats simultaneously, the power to decide on amending the provision lay with the government.
The poll panel also suggested increasing the compensation amounts - Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh - that it had proposed in 2002 for contesting from more than one seat, saying the cost of living had risen since then.
This is one of the proposals all people who have the good on the nation at heart should force the government to enforce.
The commission has proposed that any person standing for two seats should deposit Rs 10 lakhs for parliamentary and Rs 5 lakhs for Assembly seats.
The EC is playing a joke.
What is the expenses allowed to contestants for parliament and assemblies.
For the Lok Sabha it is 70 lakhs and for assemblies, it is 28 lakhs.
Assuming that there are a minimum 4 candidates for each seat.
Any candidate who decides to contest from more than one seat should pay for the expenses incurred by the other 3 candidates as well as the government, i.e 70 x 4 = 280 lakhs or 2.80 crores for Parliamentary and Rs 1.12 crores for Assemblies.
The government should take its shares and the rest should be divided between all the candidates who stood for elections in the seat which is to be vacated.
This will prevent our corrupt politicians from taking the people to ride.
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