Head of Par panel questions EC move on social media

The head of a Parliamentary committee today questioned the way the Election Commission issued guidelines on use of social media in polls, saying they were brought out without consultation and claimed that such "elaborate" instructions do not fall within the jurisdiction of the panel.
Congress MP Shantaram Naik, who heads the Standing Committee on Law and Personnel, said while the government always makes rules in consultations with the Election Commission, the panel "does not deem it fit to consult government or political parties in issuing instructions which are in the nature of substantive law."
He said such matters cannot be left to be regulated in the names of instructions.

Quoting his discussion with an EC official, Naik said while the contents of some of the instructions may be desirable, if the Commission starts issuing them much after the date of announcement of elections, "one cannot understand logic behind such action of the Commission."
He said the poll panel had sufficient time to issue instructions on an early date.
"Again, if the Commission issues more new instructions, political parties and candidates will be taken by surprise," he said in a statement.

Naik said issuing of such elaborate instructions do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission.
"Therefore, to bring in transparency in the working of the Commission, as they expect similar transparency from political parties and their candidates, it is absolutely essential that the Commission should quote the law at every stage," he said.

Naik said making changes in the nomination form, prescribed under a statute, cannot be done unilaterally and political parties should be heard in such a matter.
"If the Commission quotes Article 324 of the Constitution, which in any case has not been quoted by them in the instructions, it will not be fair from any angle, as the Article gives only supervisory jurisdiction to the Commission in the matter of conducting of elections and preparations of electoral roll," Naik said.