‘Poll freebies a blot on democracy’

Jan 26, 2010

NEW DELHI, Jan. 25: Barely a week after mincing no words in calling for a parliamentary standing committee on intelligence, vice-president Hamid Ansari again spoke his mind on Monday while stating that "unaccounted election expenses constitute the major expenditure of political parties and their candidates".

Mr Ansari who was speaking at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission here on Monday elaborated on the "unaccounted" expenditure noting, "These relate to the distribution of freebies, liquor and cash during elections, the phenomenon of surrogate advertisements and the extensive media-related malpractice of ‘paid news’ and ‘coverage packages.’"

The vice-president added, "Each of these is a blot on the democratic process and on the objective of free and fair elections."

"Corrective action by the Election Commission and our political parties is imperative."

Other leaders, among them Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi too expressed concern over electoral malpractices.

Age Correspondent

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