Chief Justice of India JS Khehar criticised the lack of accountability in fulfilling promises that political parties make in their election manifestos.
The short-term memory of the citizenry and lack of any consequences turn a manifesto into a “a mere piece of paper”, he said. The Chief Justice was speaking on ‘Economic Reforms with Reference to Electoral Issues' at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Bar.
Speaking in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee, the Chief Justice termed as “brazen” the excuses – like lack of consensus among members – that parties make for not fulfilling their promises.
Comparing the manifestos of different political parties, Chief Justice Khehar said while most of the economic promises show similarity on foreign direct investment, manufacturing, exports, imports, trade and labour issues, the implementation part is the problem. None of the manifestos indicate any electoral reforms and the Constitutional goal of ensuring socio-economic justice to the marginalised, he said.
The Chief Justice also criticised the culture of freebies as promised in the manifestos, and highlighted instances when the Election Commission had to step in to control such attempts.
‘'The fundamental rights and directive principles of the state policy are compulsory manifestos of every political party,'' the Chief Justice said.
Justice Dipak Misra, who is currently the senior-most judge and is likely to be the next Chief Justice of India, said that candidates should remember that contesting an election is not an investment. An election should not only be bereft of criminalisation but should also follow norms of fiscal morality, said Justice Misra.
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