National
Charged person can’t be barred from holding political party post: Centre
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that a person who upon his conviction in a criminal case is barred from contesting election can’t be stopped from floating a political party or becoming its office bearer.
Pointing out that the office bearer of a political party was not a “representative”, the Centre has told the top court that there was no “connectivity and nexus” between a person barred from contesting election to parliament or the state assembly upon conviction and prohibiting such a person from forming or becoming a member of any political party.
Referring to the 255-page report of the Law Commission, the Goswami Committee and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, the government said that in none of these reports there is a suggestion to bar a person from being an office bearer of a political party on grounds of his antecedents.
The Centre said this in its affidavit filed in response to the petition by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking to bar the convicted politicians from forming a political party or becoming an office bearer of an existing political party.
Telling the court that the appointment of an office bearer of a political party is a matter of “party autonomy”, the Centre has told the court that “It may not be apposite to preclude the Election Commission from registering a political party merely because a particular post holder is not qualified to contest election.”
In the last hearing of the matter on February 12, the top court had asked that if a convicted person can’t contest election then how can he be at the helms of the affairs of a political party and select candidates to contest elections.
“If a convicted person cannot contest an election, how can he be at the head of a political party select candidates to contest elections” a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had observed, saying that this flies in the face of top court’s judgments calling for eliminating corruption.
Asking the Centre to spell out its stand on the issue, the court in its last hearing had said that “what can’t be done directly, can’t be done indirectly”.
Earlier the Election Commission in its response had told the top court that Section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 gives it the power to register a group or an association as a political party. It also vests in it the discretionary powers to grant or not to grant registration.
But once a political party is registered, then Section 29A does not expressly confer any power on the EC to de-register a political party, poll panel had said in its response pointing out that “In fact there is no explicit provision to de-registration.”
However, the poll panel had sought to be empowered to deregister a political party and be authorised to issue necessary order regulating registration and de-registration particularly in view of its constitutional mandate.
–IANS
pk/ahm/vm
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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