Supreme Court Justice Mushir Alam has said that a new bazaar of corruption will originate at the grassroots level if dishonest and tainted people are elected in the local government (LG) polls.
The judge gave these remarks while taking up a case of a candidate from Bahawalpur, who was contesting election on a PML-N ticket, but he was being barred from contesting the election.
The PML-Q candidate Akhtar Ali had challenged his possible exclusion from the race.
The judge observed, “If the LG elected representatives are not Sadiq and Ameen, then a new bazaar of corruption will take root at the grassroots level.”
The judge remarked that under article 62 it is mandatory for any candidate to be honest (Sadiq and Ameen) for becoming a member of parliament.
“The Sindh government has also made this provision mandatory for candidates contesting LG polls but the Punjab government did not do so. The Punjab government should also have made it mandatory for candidates in LG elections. These are the people who are elected to the national assembly and Senate later,” he said.
The court remarked that the Punjab government had not made article 62 a condition for the contestants of the LG polls, or how their eligibility could be evaluated.
The counsel for the petitioner took the plea that there was no bar on his client to contest the election; therefore, he should be allowed to participate in the polls.
The court while disposing the case allowed the PML-Q candidate to contest the polls.