Consider the following statements about the recent amendments to the elections law by the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act 1996: 1. Any conviction for the offence of insulting the Indian National flag or the Constitution of Indian shall entail disqualification for contesting elections to Parliament and State Legislatures for six year from the date of conviction 2. There is an increase in the security deposit which a candidate has to make to contest the election to the Lok Sabha 3 . A candidate cannot now stand for election from more than one Parliament Constituency 4. No election will now be countermanded on the death of a contesting candidate Which of the above statements are correct?

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YESPYQ · Accepted Answer

Correct answer: 1, 2 and 4. Statement 1 is correct: The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1996, specifies that a person convicted of the offence of insulting the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India is disqualified from contesting elections for six years from the date of conviction. Statement 2 is correct: The security deposit amount for candidates contesting elections was increased to discourage non-serious candidates. Statement 3 is incorrect: The law does not restrict a candidate from contesting elections from more than one Parliamentary constituency, but if a candidate wins both, they must vacate one. Statement 4 is correct: The amendment removed the provision requiring elections to be countermanded in the event of the death of a contesting candidate, ensuring that the electoral process is not delayed. The only exception would be if the candidate had already secured the maximum number of votes. 352

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