Thursday, May 11 2006 11:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Listing criminalisation of politics as a major drawback, Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon today (May 11, 2006) asked the Government to expedite work on the 22-point electoral reforms agenda 'atleast in parts' to rid the body politics of money and muscle power.

"Criminals are contesting elections going by the composition of legislatures. We should curb this since it is playing a role", the CEC told sources pointing out that EC's electoral reforms proposals were pending with the Government.

Criminalisation of politics tops the EC's reforms agenda.

"If all the 22 proposals cannot be implemented, at least they should be done in parts", said Tandon, who would be demitting office next month. He would be writing to the government afresh emphasising the need to implement them in order to cleanse the electoral system of money and muscle power.

Besides criminalisation of politics, the Commission has suggested measures to increase security deposit of candidates, restriction on the number of seats from which one may contest and prohibition of surrogate advertisements in print media.

Asked if the Commission wanted legal backup to some of its proposals for reforms, the CEC said "Certainly and the most important of them has to be ways to control criminal elements in the body politic".