BackEC rules status quo for dissent notes on model code orders
Rejecting Lavasa’s demand, EC said dissenting views for orders related to poll code violations will not be made publicThe Commission said that status quo will be maintained and all dissent notes or minority views will remain part of the EC’s records
PremiumThe Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday rejected the demand made by election commissioner Ashok Lavasa to include dissent notes and minority views in orders involving the model code of conduct (MCC). However, the Commission said that status quo will be maintained and all dissent notes or minority views will remain part of the EC’s records.
The EC argued that dissent notes cannot be made part of the order as poll code violations were not quasi judicial in nature and the documents were not signed either by the chief election commissioner (CEC), or the two other commissioners.
The decision of the Commission , taken during a meeting on Tuesday morning, comes after Lavasa decided to recuse himself from all MCC meetings and demanded that all dissenting views with respect to alleged violations of the MCC should be recorded in the orders that the EC puts out.
“In the meeting of the Election Commission held today, regarding the issue of the MCC, it was inter alia decided that proceedings of the commission’s meeting would be drawn, including the views of all the commission members. Thereafter, formal instructions to this effect would be issued in consonance with extant laws/rules," the EC said.
The EC has been embroiled in controversy over the past few days. However, chief election commissioner Sunil Arora on Saturday played down the row and denied any rift with Lavasa. Arora said that the top three members of the poll body were not “expected to be a template or clones of each other".
Election commissioner Sushil Chandra is the third member of the poll body.
The EC’s decision to maintain status quo comes just two days ahead of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections and on a day when opposition parties met the poll body following alleged tampering of electronic voting machines.
Press Trust of India contributed to this story.
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