EC should not transgress powers of Parliament: Shantaram Naik

SHILLONG: The Election Commission (EC) should not transgress on the powers of Parliament, senior Rajya Sabha Member Shantaram Naik said today.

"They (EC) should remain within the ambit of Article 324 of the Constitution which provides it with only a supervisory role and not make laws," said Naik, who heads a Parliament Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice.

Asked if the poll body over-stepped its constitutional mandate, Naik said "they are unfortunately creating laws under the guise of Article 324."

Naik said that EC observers sometimes did not balance things properly while referring to curbs on expenditure during elections.

He also said that the Committee was examining whether the code-of-conduct should be made part of the Representation of People Act, 1951.

A detailed report on its findings would be submitted to Parliament by the end of the forthcoming monsoon session, Naik said.

Naik was here on a consultative meet on 'Electoral reforms, Code of conduct for political parties and Anti-defection law' with state governments, political parties, NGOs from all seven north eastern states.