Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S.Y. Quraishi on Wednesday rejected the idea of right to recall an elected MP favoured by social activist Anna Hazare, as impractical and emphasised that the move could have a destabilising effect on the entire system.
Talking to journalists in the capital, Dr Quraishi said, “Right to recall in a big country like ours is impractical. It is not easy in a country where candidates are voted by lakhs of voters.”
Batting for more number of people casting their vote in favour of deserving candidates and rejecting those with a criminal background, the CEC said if the system of right to recall is put in place, “elections will go on happening and the entire system will destabilise.”
Answering another question, the CEC said that even the suggestion of rejecting candidates is very difficult to implement.
On a question related electoral reforms, Dr Quraishi said that he was all for banning government advertisements in dailies six months before the poll dates. “We have a suspicion that this also could be a modus operandi of paid news. Few months before elections, full-page government advertisements come in papers highlighting achievements. That is the misuse of government funds.”
It is a political propaganda in the garb of activities of the department,” he said.
Conceding that the paid news phenomenon is embarrassing, he had a word of praise for the media where 95 per cent of the journalists were professional. He said, “It is only some owners in some cases who sell their conscience which is playing havoc. We need to do something about it”. He also stressed that the paid news syndrome affected all political parties and they want to have something done about it.
Recommending a ban on door-to-door campaigning, as that was the time when money and liquor were distributed, the CEC also suggested a blanket ban on opinion polls as that affected the prospects of all political parties.