New Delhi, Dec 8 The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday asked all National and State recognised political parties to provide a copy of their outfit’s latest constitution, along with amendments, within 30 days.
The missive comes close to discussions on the issue of the adherence to party constitution by political parties during a hearing in the Supreme Court in Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay versus Union of India matter, said an official statement.
“As the party constitution is an important document containing vital information regarding the objectives of the party and procedures it must follow for functioning in a democratic manner, this information is required to be disseminated to all party members for compliance by them and for the public at large for their knowledge,” said the ECI letter.
Furthermore, for overall strengthening of the electoral space, it is essential that all parties must adhere to the provisions contained in their party constitution, it said.
The letter, written by Ashwani Kumar Mohal, Secretary, ECI, said, “It's requested that the copy of the latest party constitution, along with all its amendments up-to-date, should be furnished to the ECI, within 30 days, so as to upload the latest constitution on the website of the ECI.”
The ECI official said that in exercise of the powers conferred on the Commission by Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 29A (6) of the RP Act, 1951, the Commission has prescribed guidelines and an application format for registration of the political parties.
These guidelines stipulate the documents/information that must accompany the application for registration of a political party, it said.
Mohal wrote, “I am directed to state that political parties are registered with the Election Commission under section 29A (1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The sub-section (5) thereof provides that ‘the application for registration under subsection (1) shall be accompanied by a copy of the memorandum or rules and regulations of the association or body, by whatever name called’…"
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