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Union Law Minister K Jana Krishnamurthy said on Monday that the government would bring a "comprehensive bill" to curb the criminalisation of politics and promised to ensure that the proposal is enacted in the monsoon session of Parliament.
This follows an all-party meeting on electoral reforms rejecting the Election Commission's move to implement the Supreme Court's directive to make candidates disclose their antecedents, including criminal records, if any.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Krishnamurthy said there was "unanimity [among the participants] that more steps need to be taken to curb the criminalisation of politics". They felt, he said, that the government should circulate a draft bill dealing with the matter. "I don't expect any difficulty in getting the bill passed [in the monsoon session]," he said.
While contending that the meeting appreciated the Supreme Court judgment on electoral reforms, Krishnamurthy argued that Parliament's power to make laws was supreme.
He referred to the court's judgment stating that the Election Commission could act on its order till a relevant bill was passed in Parliament. "The draft bill will be sent to the political parties for their suggestions and brought to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha," he said.
According to Krishnamurthy, the suggestion on revealing the educational qualifications of candidates was an important aspect. But he underscored that in sharp contrast to earlier times, the percentage of non-matriculates in the thirteenth Lok Sabha was down to 2.5 only.
He said the proposed bill would be ready by the time the election for a Rajya Sabha seat from Maharashtra is held.
He, however, admitted that there were certain "ground realities' which are acting as roadblocks. (Advani too had referred to these.) This was why the draft bill would be circulated among all parties for their suggestions.
Replying to a question, Krishnamurthy said the National Conference representative was also present at the meeting and said he did not foresee any difficulty in the polls being held in the state.
The law minister said participants like senior Congress politician Pranab Mukherjee and others also felt that the election nomination form should be simplified without "impractical roadblocks".
EARLIER REPORT: All-party meeting rejects EC directive
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