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‘Modi government taking control of EC in poll year’: Congress takes new dig at BJP, cites LK Advani’s 2012 letter
Narendra Modi government's bill to remove the Chief Justice of India from the Election Commission selection panel faces criticism from the Opposition. The bill allows the government to have more control over the poll bodies, leading to concerns about bias and lack of transparency, alleged Congress
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government during the recently concluded monsoon session in parliament introduced a bill that eliminates the Chief Justice of India from the Election Commission of India chief selection panel. The bill garnered much criticism from Opposition bloc. On Friday, the Congress alleged that BJP-led central government wanted "to ensure control" over the Election Commission in a “poll year”, hinting at the upcoming crucial assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana would go for polls this year
The contentious bill tabled on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha seeks to replace the Chief Justice of India with a cabinet minister in the panel for selection of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners.
The bill will allow the PM Modi government to have more control over poll bodies through the appointments of members of the poll panel.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter, attaching a letter by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani to critcise the move by the BJP-led government.
“There is a rapidly growing opinion in the country which holds that appointments to Constitutional bodies such the Election Commission should be done on a bipartisan basis in order to remove any impression of bias or lack of transparency and fairness.” Ramesh's tweet read
“No, this isn’t a Modi critic. This is an excerpt from the second para of a letter from Advani to then PM Dr. Manmohan Singh on 2nd June, 2012.” Ramesh added.
Sharing a letter written in June 2012 by veteran BJP leader L K Advani to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said even he had said that the appointments to constitutional bodies should be done in a bipartisan manner to remove any impression of bias.
Ramesh said Advani had also proposed a panel at that time with the Chief Justice of India and leaders of opposition in both houses, besides the prime minister.
"In its current form, the CEC Bill will ensure executive interference with its 2:1 dominance of the Committee. This coming from the Modi government in a election year further cements the view that Mr. Modi wants to ensure control over the Election Commission," the Congress leader charged.
Advani had written to Singh that, "There is a rapidly growing opinion in the country which holds that appointments to Constitutional bodies such the Election Commission should be done on a bipartisan basis in order to remove any impression of bias or lack of transparency and fairness.”
Jairam Ramesh said to select the CEC and the Election Commissioners, the Committee he proposed comprised of the CJI along with leaders of the Opposition from both Houses of Parliament.
"The CEC Bill brought by the Modi government is not only against what Advani proposed but also overturns a 5-judge Constitutional bench judgment from 2nd March, 2023.
"'In order to allow independence in the functioning of the Election Commission as a Constitutional body, the office of Chief Election Commissioners as well as the Election Commissioners have to be insulated from the executive interference'," the Congress leader said quoting the Supreme Court verdict.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Business NewsPoliticsNews‘Modi government taking control of EC in poll year’: Congress takes new dig at BJP, cites LK Advani’s 2012 letter
First Published:11 Aug 2023, 05:57 PM IST
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