Blank affidavits by politicians

AHMEDABAD: When a number of candidates from Gujarat submitted blank affidavits along with their nominations this time, it raised the hackles of election watchers.
And, with the Election Commission rules not covering the issue, they are now worried and mulling over ways to curb the practice.
As many as 10 candidates from Gujarat, five of them Independent, have either submitted blank affidavits, including columns dealing with property, liabilities and criminal records, to the EC or marked every column with "lagu nathi padtu" (not applicable).
The Election Commission’s "Handbook for Candidates" is silent on the rules about incomplete affidavits or those left blank by the candidates. The "qualification and disqualification" section does not touch upon such affidavits.
There is just one area where the handbook lays down clear rules regarding the filing of affidavits i.e. the age factor. The qualification section says that "you must not be less than 25 years of age on the date of scrutiny of nominations (Article 84(b) of the Constitution read with section 36(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951)".
For instance, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate from Banaskantha, Babulal Gandalal Vidija, has left all the sections blank and has ended up writing only the names of his family members.
Another BSP candidate contesting from Porbandar, Keshavbhai Bhutia, has typed in ‘nathi’ (no). BSP’s Sabarkantha candidate Rashidbhai Baga has like his partyman contesting from Banaskantha put down the names of dependants only. Independent candidate from Gandhinagar has nothing to say in his affidavit.
"We are concerned about this issue and are exploring options, including judicial," says Jagdeep Chhoker of the Association for Democratic Reforms.
"It is a serious issue as the process of disclosure acts on the political establishment.There should be a rule by which some action can be taken against a candidate who has not disclosed any information.
It can then act as a deterrent and will have a salutary effect subsequently," says Chhoker. Election watchers also want to ensure that action is taken against those providing false information.
"It is not physically possible to cross-check each and every disclosure made in the affidavits in the time period between filing of the affidavit and the polling day. This can be done after the elections and action can be taken against those proven to have furnished wrong information. This will also act as a deterrent," he adds.