The election commission of India suddenly finds itself overtaken by crisis, after chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami sent a recommendation to the President for the removal of his colleague, Election Commissioner Navin Chawla.
Due to retire on April 20, chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami wrote a letter to the President on January 16 calling for the removal of Chawla, for his alleged partisan conduct. He listed over 10 instances wherein the latter is alleged to have favoured one particular party.
Gopalaswami was for early elections in Karnataka, before the spell of President’s Rule ended last year. S Y Quraishi backed him, but Chawla did not. Chawla, says the CEC, was pitching for dates that ?some of the political parties were asking for?. Similarly, Chawla is believed to have had reservations over the conduct of assembly elections in UP in 2007.
There were, again, differences of opinion in the EC over the notice to Congress president Sonia Gandhi after her ?maut ke saudagar? speech during the Gujarat elections.
The split has, predictably, resulted in a division in political opinion. While the BJP has demanded the immediate removal of Chawla, the Congress feels that the CEC?s recommendation is not binding on the executive. Gopalaswami, incidentally, is an NDA government appointee, whereas Chawla has been appointed by the UPA government.
But some experts feel that this is the opportune moment to effect changes to further strengthen the institution.
Former CEC T S Krishnamurthy told FE: ?In 2004, I had recommended that the process to induct Election Commissioners be broad-based and that parity be ensured in the ways to remove the three ECs (whereby any one of them can be removed only by initiating impeachment proceedings).?
Former secretary to the EC, K J Rao agrees. ?A body comprising the PM, Leader of Opposition, speaker and chairman of Rajya Sabha, should nominate election commissioners,? he told FE.
?Meetings will take place? He (Chawla) will take part?
In an interview, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami says it will be business as usual at the Election Commission.
Will the meetings with representatives of political parties, state chief electoral officers, DGPs and chief secretaries, planned from February 3 onwards, take place as planned?
Of course, the meetings will take place.
Will Navin Chawla take part?
He?s part of the Commission and will naturally be part of these meetings.
When will you demit office?
I will leave on April 20 (when my term ends) and a new CEC takes over on April 21.
When did you write to the President? And why did you take so long?
I wrote on January 16. Mr Chawla took six months to respond (to the CEC?s letter to him).
The EC split has become a BJP-Congress split. What does it mean for the credibility of the institution?
Not a word on this.
Why is BJP alone talking on this?
They initially raised the issue but you need to ask them and others.
Your recommendation is binding on the government?
I have done my duty. You need to ask the constitutional experts on this.
