The Commission stated this in an affidavit filed in response to a PIL by former chairman of the Shia Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh, Syed Waseem Rizvi, searching for cancellation of political events having spiritual symbols and names.

The affidavit identified {that a} Bill was launched within the Lok Sabha to amend the Act in order that no affiliation bearing spiritual identify could be registered as a political occasion. However, it was not handed and consequently, lapsed with the dissolution of the then Lok Sabha in 1996.

The affidavit stated political events are required to abide by the precept of secularism as mandated by Section 29A of the Act. It added {that a} political occasion making use of for registration with the EC “must bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India and the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and to also uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India” and that if the memorandum or guidelines and registration of the occasion don’t conform to those, it shall not be registered by shouldn’t be registered by the Commission.

The EC identified that in 2005, it had taken a coverage resolution to not register political events that had spiritual connotations, beneath Section 29A. It was submitted that since then no such occasion was registered and that “certain” political events talked about within the writ petition had been registered previous to that.

The affidavit stated the EC issued an order on May 19, 2014, directing that political events searching for registration mustn’t have spiritual connotation.

The EC stated that “the registered names of the existing political parties having religious connotation have become legacy names, as they have been in existence for decades” and left it to the courtroom to resolve whether or not the names must be disturbed or not. It submitted that the petitioner’s prayer to cancel the occasion symbols with spiritual connotations is legally untenable as image reserved for a nationwide or state occasion is strictly based mostly on its electoral efficiency.