A day after Arun Goel stepped down as the Election Commissioner, Opposition parties launched multiple attacks on the Modi government over his resignation, hinting at differences between Goel and the Centre.

Goel’s resignation has ignited a political firestorm. Congress and other opposition parties on Sunday asked whether he did so due to any “differences” with the chief election commissioner or the Narendra Modi government.

Taking potshots at the BJP, some opposition leaders also wondered if Goel resigned to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its ticket like former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

“The resignation of Arun Goel as Election Commissioner last evening raises three questions,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

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“Did he actually resign over differences with the Chief Election Commissioner or with the Modi Government, which does the front-seat driving for all supposedly independent institutions? Or did he resign for personal reasons? Or did he, like the Calcutta High Court Judge a few days back, resign to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket,” Ramesh said in a post on X.

The Congress leader said the Election Commission has for eight months now refused to meet with INDIA parties on the issue of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) that is essential to prevent “electronic voting manipulation”.

“Each passing day in Modi’s India deals an added blow to democracy and democratic institutions,” he alleged.

When asked about Goel’s resignation, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said one has to wait to see what he does in the coming days.

“I was thinking that after the high court judge resigned and joined the BJP the next day and started abusing the TMC. It shows that the BJP has appointed people with such a mindset. Now the election commissioner has resigned, let us wait for some time to see what he does,” he said, PTI reported.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged the Election Commission has become an “extended branch of the BJP”.

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It is not the same Election Commission that it was during TN Seshan’s time, which functioned as a watchdog over the elections and remained impartial, he claimed. Raut alleged, “In the last 10 years, the Election Commission has been privatised. It has become a branch of the BJP.”

“Like BJP’s people have been appointed in high courts, Supreme Court, Governor’s house, in the same manner, they would appoint two of their BJP people here too,” Raut claimed.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that several times during the BJP rule officials have had to leave their job due to pressure. “The resignation (of Arun Goel) raises questions as to who is putting pressure on the Election Commission,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi demanded answers from Goel and the government over the resignation just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. “It would be better if he (Arun Goel) himself or the government would tell the reason behind the resignation ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee thanked Goel for “not succumbing to pressure from Delhi leaders” regarding deployment of security forces in the state.

The commission, which as of now comprises only Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, is set to brief over 2,000 observers who will be deployed across constituencies on Monday, following which the CEC will fly to Srinagar. Meetings with local authorities have been planned for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The poll panel is likely to decide on whether Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections can be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections after reviewing the security arrangements, sources told Indian Express. The Supreme Court had in December last year set the deadline for holding Assembly elections in the UT as September 30, 2024.

(With inputs from PTI)