The government is considering a proposal as per which there would be a cooling-off period for officers who are retiring or leaving its service before they can join a political party.
"The Election Commission has made a proposal to the government to provide a suitable cooling-off period for government officers retiring or leaving government service and joining a political party in order to maintain their independence and neutrality in functioning while in office," Law minister Ashwani Kumar said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
"The proposal is under consideration of the government," he added.
In response to another question, he said the issue of election reforms in its entirety had been referred to the Law Commission whose recommendations were yet to be received.
