Amnesty International India has asked the declared and probable prime ministerial candidates of various political parties to clarify their positions on key human rights issues ahead of the Parliamentary elections. “Political parties have sworn to uphold Constitutional values of justice, liberty, equality and dignity. But their leaders’ actions must reflect this pledge. It is essential for everyone to know where prime ministerial candidates stand on important human rights questions,” said Shashikumar Velath, Programmes Director at Amnesty International India. Amnesty’s “14 for 2014” Campaign asks candidates to state their positions on issues including police reforms, undertrial detention, impunity for armed forces, land acquisition, and freedom of expression, etc.
The candidates approached include Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi, Jayalalithaa, Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, Mulayam Singh, Naveen Patnaik, Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal. “The next 5 years will show whether India is willing to be seen as a true global power by upholding human rights at home and abroad, or whether it will continue to be driven by politics and narrow conceptions of national interest,” said Velath. Importantly, it wants the probable prime ministers to hold armed forces accountable for human rights violations by repealing AFSPA and enact a law to abolish death penalty.