New Delhi: Barring criminals from contesting and checking use of black money in elections top his reform agenda, Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said on Friday.
"Barring criminals from contesting and checking use of black money in elections are top reform proposals," said Quraishi while delivering a lecture here on poll reforms.
He said the proposals are pending with the Centre for two decades and parliament has to decide on them.
Reiterating the importance of the election model code of conduct, the poll panel chief said "nobody can touch it" as "its compliance is more than of any other law in the country".
"Poll code is a moral law... it brings maturity to our democracy and a notice under it sends shivers down the spine of the violator," said Quraishi.
The code was in news during the recently concluded assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh when the EC issued notices to two union cabinet members - Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma - for violating it by promising sub quota to backward Muslims if the Congress was voted to power.
Among other poll reforms, he listed "paid news" as a problem and said both the giver and receiver in such cases should be jailed.
Quraishi also said that like the UPSC and the CAG offices, the EC budget should also be under the consolidated fund of India instead of getting it approved by the parliament.
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