The government, under pressure from the ongoing civil society agitation on graft, is set to unveil a set of electoral reforms, in a bid to reclaim some moral ground.
Top government sources confirmed that the first set of proposals for electoral reforms have been firmed up and that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to call an all-party meeting on the matter ?very soon?.
Law minister Salman Khurshid is said to be one of the main forces behind the firming up of these proposals.
Sources confirmed that the proposals include ending immunity against prosecuting MPs, preventing those against whom charges have been framed in court for henious crimes from even filing nomination papers for fighting elections, going for partial state funding of polls, and making paid news a punishable offence.
This is not all. The prime minister has made it clear to senior government functionaries that the government?s communication was inadequate in terms of getting across its intentions on governance. For this, a Facebook page on these reforms would be set up soon, and the law minister himself might be asked to answer queries on the reforms.
Government sources said the agenda was also to clear the Whistleblowers Act and other anti-graft measures in Parliament, hopefully in the winter session.
? This is just the government. The Congress party has also been facing an unprecdentedly hostile media, and while the Emergency era was different, in the days of 24/7 news it becomes a different proposition,? said a top source in the party.
The party therefore has shed its antipathic relationship with technology and started uploading party briefings on YouTube along with streaming of some events.
A strong web prescence for the party is on the agenda. Anna Hazare?s recent statement asking for people to be wary of Congress candidates and the direction that the Hissar byelection has shaken has stirred the government and party into action.