Gujarat HC allows adding of BJP, Cong as respondents in PIL opposing poll manifestos

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday allowed that the BJP and the Congress be added as respondents in a PIL seeking direction to the Election Commission to stop political parties from issuing manifestos and to hold them liable for unkept pre-poll promises.

A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi allowed the petitioner, Jayesh Shah, a Congress member and the managing trustee of Seva Trust, to add the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress as respondents in the petition.

The petitioner will also add the manifestos issued by the two political parties before the 2014 general elections in his PIL to highlight his contention that the promises made by the ruling party "mostly remained unfulfilled".

The manifesto issued by the Congress will also be put up for the court's consideration.

The Election Commission is already a respondent in the case.

The petitioner today requested the high court to allow him to add the manifestos of both the parties to the PIL.

In his petition, Shah has highlighted the promises made in the manifestos of the two political parties, and said that those made by the BJP, which is now the ruling party at the Centre, remained unfulfilled.

The petitioner said he seeks the court's intervention into the matter as the Election Commission has not taken action against the political parties for making tall promises through their manifestos.

He said they are "nothing but mere pieces of papers and no accountability is attached to the publication of manifestos".

He said the "public at large is being misguided to support a particular political party" due to promises made in its manifesto.

"The goals and pledge by the then elected party only remained in books and none of the goals have been achieved even as of today," the petition alleged.

"By issuance of such manifesto, the public at large is being misguided to support a particular party...Promises and goals are made to entice the voters to vote in their favour," the PIL alleged.

Shah maintained that he is not against any particular political party, but intended to highlight the large gap between the promises made in their manifestos and the actual deliverance once they attain power by taking voters on their side.