The need to reduce the role of money power in elections and check the malpractice of paid news was stressed at the first round of the All party meeting convened by the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi on Monday. The leaders of the political parties also emphasised the need for strengthening the electoral system. Coming out of the meeting, the Congress spokesman Mr. Abhishek Singhvi said that all the parties have termed the practice of paid news as a scourge. Replying to a question on the opinion of the Congress on the functioning of EVMs, Mr. Singhvi said that his party fully supports the present system. Ravi Shankar Prasad of the BJP said that while the EVMs are a good system but there are certain concerns that need to be addressed. He also said that state funding in elections should be considered. His party also expressed the view that Lok Sabha and assembly elections should be held simultaneously. The regional party leaders will participate in the second round of the meeting. Mr. Qureshi has recently said that the Election Commission will give priority to the issue of restricting the role of money power in elections which he said has become a major challenge. AIR correspondent says that the Press Council of India conducted a study on the phenomena of paid news in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and has come out with a number of recommendations to stop the malpractice. Nilotpal Basu of the CPM, Jayanti Natrajan of the Congress and CPI’s D.Raja are among the national party leaders who attended today's meeting.