Political Parties Asked to Reveal Details of Candidates with Criminal Records

REVEAL THE DETAILS OF CANDIDATES WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS

I sent the following letter to different political parties and the Election Commission of India. Other political groups are also urged to comply with the advice.

To                                                                                                                             January 10, 2022

Mr. Arvind Kejriwal
Leader
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of India
New Delhi

Mr. Jagat Prakash Nadda
National President
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India
New Delhi

Ms Sonia Gandhi
President
The Indian National Congress (Congress)
New Delhi

Copy for Urgent Action: 

Mr. Sushil Chandra
Chief Election Commissioner
Election Commission of India (ECI)
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi 110 001
[ And Chief Electoral Officers in Different Indian States ]

I am a national award-winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. In order to weed out criminality from our political ecosystem, I had filed a couple of petitions in September and November 2021 with the Chief Election Commissioner as well as the President and the Chief Justice of India. 

Among other remedial measures, I had urged these authorities to direct all political parties to release the criminal records of their candidates who will be contesting the Assembly elections scheduled to take place in different states during 2022 – to begin the process. [ You can click here to download and study the petitions that I had filed. ]

The Election Commission is supposed to ensure that all political parties upload on their websites detailed information regarding their candidates with pending criminal cases. 

The political parties are also required to explicitly explain the reasons for selecting candidates with criminal cases pending against them. If the reason for selecting such candidates is not valid, the Election Commission is supposed to cancel the candidature of these candidates. 

As there are also widespread allegations that the political parties are secretly selling election tickets to raise illicit funds, you must also reveal if you have sold any election ticket from your party to any candidate.

All these actions are required to stop criminality in Indian politics and help voters take informed decisions while voting in the elections. Therefore, you are advised to reveal the information about the criminal records of your candidates and reasons for selecting such candidates explicitly on your website. 

If you do not have a website, you must create a website in the next couple of days and put this information separately for different states where your party has decided to contest elections. You should also communicate these website addresses publicly through digital and traditional media channels.

If you ignore these directions, it will tantamount to wilful deception and negligence and it will be construed that you are deliberately trying to deceive the voters to gain undue political advantage. In that case, I urge the Election Commission to debar your entire political party from contesting all future elections and begin prosecution of your leaders under the applicable legal statutes.

Please let me know – by January 12, 2022 – the action that you have taken on the above advice of publicly declaring on your official website the statewise criminal records of your election candidates, reasons for selecting such candidates, and if you have sold any party ticket.

Thank You

Contact

Rakesh Raman
Editor, RMN News Service [ Website ]
Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, India
Mobile: 9810319059 | Contact by Email