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Keep LS out of bounds to regional parties: PIL

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the Centre and the Election Commission to file their reply within six weeks to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition for a mandamus to them to permit only candidates of recognised national parties to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

Though the court dismissed the petition at the admission stage itself in May 2004, notice was issued in August that year after M.O. Kandasamy Singh, a Chennai-based advocate, filed a review petition. Subsequently he died and on Tuesday the court, after hearing senior counsel K. Subramanian, permitted that advocate Elephant G. Rajendran substitute for the petitioner to pursue the case.

More seats

Mr. Subramanian said an analysis of the results of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections showed that regional outfits put together obtained more seats than the national parties.

Additional Solicitor-General Amarendra Saran, appearing for the Centre, and Meenakshi Arora, counsel for the Commission, agreed to file their response.

National integrity

The petition contended that there was an urgent need for national integrity and a strong Union government and that could be achieved only if national parties got absolute majority in Parliament. If their representation in Parliament was not more than half the strength of the Lok Sabha, there could be no scope for a strong Union government, which would otherwise spend more time appeasing the parties in power in States whose support it got in the Lok Sabha.

Fractured verdict

In the elections since 1991, people had given only a fractured verdict and no national party could get absolute majority. Thanks to differences and varied ideologies among the alliance partners, successive Prime Ministers could not take effective policy measures for the growth of the nation.

Further, a large number of representatives from regional parties were a roadblock to the Centre taking strong measures. The increasing demand for Statehood from different regions also impaired the concept of a strong Centre.

The petition noted that on the eve of elections, only national parties published their manifestos for the country as a whole and regional parties had no role to play in major national issues. It said State parties could send their representatives to the Rajya Sabha to air their grievances.

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