Against the backdrop of the recent controversy between the Election Commission and the Law ministry over the latter claiming control over it, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Monday made it clear that this cannot happen as EC is a Constitutionally independent body.
'When candidates get elected from smaller parties at the time of government formation, these parties dictate terms in extending support,' he said.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Thursday called for a "complete check" on the menace of paid news during polls and emphasised on keeping a track on the expenditure record of candidates.
Asked about the timing of his move against Chwala, CEC Gopalaswami said, "This argument regarding timing is unfair. I was dictated by circumstances. It was not a deliberate decision. I had to wait till the Karnataka elections get over. He (Chawla) took five months to reply to me. For one month he went on leave. I have taken only one and a half months to prepare my opinion once I got his (Chawla's) response (to the charges made against him)."
It is incumbent on mature and dispassionate analysts not to look at the CEC's report through political or ideological spectacles and import into it hidden purposes and meanings, says B S Raghavan
Opposition leaders believe this entire plan has been put in place to ensure that Mamata Banerjee is kept out of office in West Bengal.
After battling with a day-long embarrassment of unending phone calls on Wednesday over Election Commissioner S Y Qureshi hinting in London about the Lok Sabha polls being held April 8 and May 15, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami was stunned to find a Union minister barge into his house in the evening, without any appointment, to enquire about the election dates.
Team Anna's demand for incorporating Right to Reject a candidate in Parliament and assembly elections is an "interesting possibility", feels Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi.
Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were among the 16 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha from four states where polling was held on Friday after tussle over cross voting and alleged breach of election rules delayed the counting by around eight hours in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The central election committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party will meet on Thursday to finalise its first list of candidates for five assembly polls, with top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expected to attend the meeting.
The Election Commission will hold the 2019 general election under Arora .
Claiming that their activists were under attack from 'Trinamool Congress-led anti-socials', the Left parties on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to take immediate steps to ensure free and fair polls in West Bengal, including ordering the execution of non-bailable warrants against criminals who were 'terrorising' people ahead of the vote.The four parties also alleged that a prominent media group, which they said was 'acting as an official mouthpiece' of Mamata Banerjee'
The Opposition can only question us if we stop them from campaigning. The opportunities are equal for all, he said.
Ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, chief election commissioner SY Quraishi has said that the money seized in raids by the state election commission is only the tip of the iceberg. chief election commissioner SY Quraishi said, "flow of money is our biggest challenge. Even the money confiscated in the recent seizures does not cover it all."
N Gopalaswamy said the number of political parties increased manifold after 2003 because of tax exemptions
President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday appointed Chandra as 24th CEC on Monday.
An Allahabad high court bench of Justice Shekhar Yadav had on Thursday last urged the government and the poll panel to consider postponing the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections for a month or two and banning all political rallies amid the fears of an impending third wave of Covid.
N Gopalaswami is expected to be the next chief election commissioner succeeding B B Tandon, who is retiring on June 29.
He will assume charge with effect from April 19, after the incumbent Hari Shankar Brahma demits office
In the backdrop of allegations by certain political parties that the Electronic Voting Machines could be hacked, the Election Commission on Thursday said EVMs were and are tamper proof.
Tandon, who was appointed as EC in 2001, will assume charge of the post on the retirement of incumbent T S Krishna Murthy on May 16, an official announcement said.
Allaying all doubts on the possibility of Electronic Voting Machine tampering, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla on Tuesday said the machines used in India are stand-alone machines and cannot be manipulated.
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Monday rejected social activist Anna Hazare's demand for right to recall or reject saying the move would endanger political stability in the country.
Unlike the past when G V G Krishnamurthy, J M Lyngdoh, R Peri Sastry, H S Brahma, and V S Sampath held positions in the ECI representing all corners of India, this ECI will be North India-centric.
Accompanied by two election commissioners -- Naveen Chawla and S Y Quraishi -- Gopalswami arrived in Lucknow on Wednesday evening on a two-day visit. The team will also travel to Patna to take stock of the poll preparations in Bihar. India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, has as many as 80 parliamentary constituencies. The state will go to poll in five phases, during which 11.62 crore voters will exercise their franchise at 1,28,112 polling stations.
The Centre has appointed Navin Chawla as chief election commissioner with effect from April 21, 2009.
Amitabh Chaudhary sent an e-mail on the decisions taken by the Committee of Administrators (COA) to Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which had moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday on one of the issues dogging the BCCI.
The legendary Seshan was not keeping good health for the past couple of years and he passed away at about 9.30 pm, a senior police official told PTI.
Actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi met Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy in New Delhi on Monday to seek a common symbol for his party Praja Rajyam. Chiranjeevi, who was accompanied by former union minister P Shivshankar, submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission, requesting that the rules for issuing a common symbol be amended. As per the EC's rules, a regional political party needs to secure six per cent of the votes and two elected representatives.
Terming as "impractical" Anna Hazare's suggestion for the right to recall an elected Member of Parliament, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday said such a move will "destabilise" the entire system. "Right to recall in a big country like ours is impractical. It is not easy in a country where candidates are voted by lakhs of voters," he told reporters. He feared that if the right to recall is put in place, "elections will go on happening".
On a day Ashok Lavasa's decision to recuse from model code of conduct complaints became public, the EC said the 'full commission' would meet on May 21 to discuss the issue of dissent and 'related matters'.
India has provided 1,935 electronic voting machines to Bhutan for the country's second national elections to be held on Saturday.
Unhappy with the Sports Authority of India's flip-flop over the dope testing episode involving weightlifter Monika Devi, Sports Minister M S Gill on Wednesday appointed former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy to inquire into all aspects of the matter. Krishnamurthy has been asked to submit his report within a week, sources in the Sports Ministry said.
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