Govt takes a step forward to keep crime off politics

Disqualification under Section 8 (1) of the RPA would be brought at par with economic and social offences in Section 8 (2) as well as the debar under Section 8 (3), where a person is imprisoned for two years or more, Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The amendment, which has the consent of all political parties, was necessary as previously the disqualification would start from the date of conviction and a person serving a term longer than six years would become eligible to contest polls after the debar period.

The amendment, a long-standing demand of the National Commission for Women, will be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament. The objective of the six-year debar is to keep criminals from contesting in two consecutive elections.

Other decisions taken today:

• A national policy on Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy 2002 for bringing back Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha into the country’s health delivery system

• New policy will attempt to reorient and revamp research on scientific lines in the three medicine systems and in homoeopathy by 2007

• Drugs standardisation and pharmacopoeial standards to be in place by 2005

• Five centres of excellence and 10 colleges to be set up by 2007 with testing facilities

• Traditional knowledge digital library for ayurveda to be opened by 2003, those for unani and siddha subsequently

• Transfer of 1,400 acres of land by Visakhapatnam Steel Plant to Andhra Pradesh government for building a port at Gangavaram. The state will pay Rs 20.02 crore for half the land and for the other 700 acres, it will provide an equal area adjacent to the steel plant for afforestation.