New Delhi, August 1
The Vajpayee government has called an all-party meeting here tomorrow to evolve a consensus on a draft bill drawn up by the Law Ministry to replace the Election Commission guidelines to check criminalisation of politics.

The meeting, to be held in Parliament House, will be presided over by Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani and Union Law and Justice Minister K. Jana Krishnamurthy, official sources said here today.

The meeting was to be held earlier on July 27 but had to be postponed due to the death of Vice-President Krishan Kant.

Irrespective of whether or not there is a consensus the government is determined to push through the Bill in the current session of Parliament itself in the wake of forthcoming Assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat, well-placed sources said.

The government is even considering drafting of two Bills on electoral reforms — one dealing with assets declaration for which there is a political consensus and the other dealing with criminalisation on which there are sharp differences between the ruling NDA coalition and the opposition parties.

As far assets declaration is concerned there is consensus among all the parties that assets declaration should be post-election and that too only by winning candidates.

As for declaration of criminal antecedents by persons contesting elections, most of the opposition parties, including the Left, have opined that conviction should be the basis as the provision of charge sheets could be easily misused.

While the Congress, has not yet given its formal response, the BJP too is understood to have failed to send its formal response under the impression that the Law Minister, who belongs to the BJP, would understand the party’s stand.

The Law Ministry is of considered opinion that there is no point having a legislation that would take care of “conviction only” in heinous crimes. There is already a provision in the Representation of Peoples Act which provides for rejection of nomination of any candidate having sentenced for more than two years imprisonment.

“We are of the view that concerns expressed by the Supreme Court in its direction to the Election Commission about criminalisation is to be suitably responded to by a political process. Our draft bill is an attempt in that direction,” Minister of State for Law Ravi Shankar Prasad told The Tribune.

“Today the people of the country want us (politicians) to take some action against criminalisation which is seeking to overtake politics of the country. So, we are very serious about passage of the bill,” Mr Prasad said.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission continues to implement its guidelines. Mr P. C. Alexander and other contestants had to declare their assets and educational qualifications besides any criminal record during the recent Rajya Sabha byelection from Maharashtra, won by Mr Alexander.