All-party meeting to discuss poll reforms

While the participants are for the most part likely to focus their attention on those recommendations of the Dinesh Goswami Committee, constituted in 1990, which have remained unimplemented till now, they are also likely to take into account the various suggestions on electoral reforms made from time to time by the Election Commission of India and other sources.

The meeting is also likely to discuss the issue of fresh delimitation of Parliamentary and assembly constituencies as also the proposed bill reserving 33 per cent seats for women.

In an attempt to carryout further electoral reforms, the United Front government had in 1996 identified a set of 24 additional proposals for discussions with political parties. These proposals were basically important recommendations of the Dinesh Goswami Committee which had remained unimplemented.

The last meeting held on July 29 authorised the government to bring forward in Parliament a comprehensive bill on electoral reforms. A group of ministers under the chairmanship of the then Union home minister Indrajit Gupta was constituted to consider the proposals.

But since, according the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government, this group could not consider many important aspects such as the laws relating to criminalisation of politics, anti-defection law and the proposal to limit the size of the council of ministers at the Centre and the states, it was felt felt that the whole gamut of recommendations on electoral reforms had to be looked into afresh.