Electoral reforms

 Now that the local self government elections are expected to be held soon, in Kerala, i would like to urge the government and the election officer to consider the following suggestion to be implemented in the same, on merits.

As per the representation of peoples act persons who are holding office of profit with government or who are drawing emoluments from the government funds cannot contest in an election. Similarly as per the service rules covering the government employees including school/ college teachers, they are barred from entering active political life. 

It is observed that both the above guidelines are blatantly violated in the elections in general and local self government elections in particular. Many aided school teachers become candidates of political parties in the local self government elections, whereas lecturers from private colleges contest the assembly elections as party candidates. In both the above cases , the salary to these personnel are paid by the government and hence all the clauses of the service rules ( including bar on active politics) should be applicable to them and they should be disqualified to contest . Similarly, since they draw salary from government, they should be declared ineligible to contest on the ground that they were holding office of profit with the government . 

I hope the authorities concerned will look into this and take an appropriate action well before declaration of the local self government elections.