PIL in SC seeks steps to make political parties accountable for manifesto promises

New Delhi [India], February 19 : A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Centre and Election Commission of India (ECI) to take steps to regulate political parties and make them accountable for essential rational manifesto promises.
The petition was filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay through his advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey.
Petitioner has also sought direction from the Election Commission to seize the election symbol and deregister/derecognize the political parties, which fail to fulfill their essential rational promises, made in the election manifesto.
In his petition, advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has urged the court to direct and declare that the Election Manifesto is a vision document, a published declaration of the intentions, motives and views of the political party and used to achieve the particular goals if the political party gets elected.
He also sought to direct the Ministry of Law and Justice to take appropriate steps to regulate the functioning of registered and recognized political parties and to make them accountable for essential rational manifesto promises; alternatively, direct the Election Commission of India to use its plenary constitutional power to frame guidelines to regulate the functioning of registered and recognized political parties and to make them accountable for essential rational manifesto promises.
Petitioner submitted that the fulcrum of democracy is the fair electoral process. "If the integrity of the electoral process is compromised then the notion of representation becomes vacuous. Political parties are promising irrational freebies but not fulfilling essential promises. So, the danger to democracy and the Indian Republic cannot be gainsaid. Therefore, the petitioner requests the Court to analyze whether political parties are really concerned about governance or do they cynically participate in the evisceration of the democratic electoral political process, which is a moot point," the petitioner said.
Petitioner submitted that Centre and ECI have not taken steps to regulate the functioning of political parties and to regulate manifesto, so, the Court is the only hope of citizens.