We need consensus to keep criminals out of politics, says Sonia

New Delhi, Jan.25 (ANI): Congress President and United Progressive Alliance chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday said that there is a need to keep criminals out of the political system.

Speaking at the diamond jubilee function of the Indian Election Commission, Sonia said there is a need to build consensus on keeping candidates with criminal records out of politics and bring greater transparency in the system.

"In contending with the influence of money and muscle power, we must strive for even greater transparency. We also need to build a consensus on how to ensure that individuals with a criminal record do not contest elections," said Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, diamond jubilee of the establishment of the Election Commission of India was celebrated here in the national capital.

The Election Commission is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body, which was created on January 25, 1950. It was constituted with the mission of conducting free and fair elections in India, which is a gigantic task as the Indian elections are the largest electoral exercise in the world.

In a national election, the Election Commission has to manage over 80,000 polling stations to enable 700 million voters of the country to exercise their franchise to vote. India stands out as an example as the world's largest democracy.

The current Election Commission of India, comprises three Election Commissioners with one of them Navin Chawla being the Chief Election Commissioner. (ANI)