Parliamentary panel on EC's power in mode code violation case: panel

NEW DELHI: Asking the government and the Election Commission to review the Model Code of Conduct, a Parliamentary Committee today recommended taking away powers of the poll body to cancel registration of political parties in case of model code violation.

The Parliamentary Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, in its 58th report, today also recommended that the Code of Conduct should be made effective from the date of notification of elections and not from the date of declaration of elections.

The panel, headed by Shantaram Naik, expressed concern that every voter has the right to know whether the candidate for whom he has cast his vote through electronic voting machine has actually gone to that candidate, which is not possible in the present system.

It appreciated the initiative of the Election Commission that it plans to attach a printer to EVMs on a limited scale to begin with and said the measure will go a long way in establishing the faith of electors in EVMs and also the processes in the conduct of elections.

"The Committee urges the government and the ECI to review the Model Code of Conduct. In this context, the Committee recommends deletion of para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968, and incorporate the same in the Representation of People Act, 1951.

"The Committee recommends that the Code of Conduct should be made effective from the date of notification of elections and not from the date of declaration of elections," the report said.

Naik said "such aspects come under substantive law and should not be part of an "order" of the Election Commission but the same should be incorporated in the Representation of People Act, 1951 after proper deliberations in Parliament."