Rahul Gandhi should work on electoral reforms: JD(U)

NEW DELHI: JD(U) today asked Rahul Gandhi to rally his party behind electoral reforms if he is "serious" about cleansing politics and said "revolutionarism" should be consistent not temporary.

"This is the first time (in electoral politics) that the entire corporate sector is solidly behind one individual ( Narendra Modi)... If Rahul Gandhi is serious about electoral reforms, he should get his party to support measures like state funding of elections," JD(U)'s spokesperson KC Tyagi said.

The party targeted BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for lavish spending of money on his campaign and demanded that the expenditure should be considered by the Election Commission as the party's electoral expenses.

Welcoming the Congress vice-president's public snub to the UPA government for bringing in an ordinance to help convicted lawmakers retain their membership, Tyagi said Rahul should go beyond it and work on larger reforms if he was serious about his politics.

Asked if Rahul's criticism of the government did not undermine the Prime Minister's authority, he said it was Congress' internal affair.

Tyagi also defended the absence of two party MPs, including its president Sharad Yadav, from the crucial JPC meeting yesterday which adopted the report giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram in 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Their absence helped ruling Congress get a majority vote in JPC.

"Our party played a key role in JPC's formation and has been with opposition parties in slamming the government... Sharad Yadav is known for his anti-Congress politics. JPC meeting was postponed to September 27 from September 23 and both our MPs were away," he said.

Asked about his party's stand on the report, Tyagi said they would decide on it once Yadav returns to the national capital next week.