Parties must be held accountable

Parties must be held accountable for not fulfilling poll promises, says Chief Justice JS Khehar

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Political parties should be held accountable for not fulfilling the promises they make while campaigning ahead of elections, Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar said on Saturday. While speaking at a seminar titled “Economic Reforms with Reference to Electoral issues”, he said manifestos have become “mere pieces of paper” nowadays.

The chief justice pointed out “brazen” excuses political parties use, such as a lack of consensus among party members, to justify not fulfilling their poll promises. Khehar emphasised that outfits must be held accountable for turning manifestos into “pieces of paper” even if people have “short-term memory” with regard to what they had been promised.

Speaking about the party manifestos released ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the CJI said none of them highlighted any connection between electoral reforms and the Constitutional goal of “ensuring economic-social justice to the marginalised sections”.

The chief justice made the statements in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Justice Dipak Misra.

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9/4/2017