Chief Election Commissioner- designate Navin Chawla wants to put the row with incumbent N Gopalaswami behind, saying he has "no rancour" against him.
N Gopalaswami is expected to be the next chief election commissioner succeeding B B Tandon, who is retiring on June 29.
Since the IPKF's withdrawal from Sri Lanka in March 1990, the LTTE's once-powerful influence in Tamil Nadu has faded.
He will take over from chief election commissioner-designate T S Krishnamurthy on February 8.
Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami, who has been in the eye of the storm after recommending the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, is currently on a one-week leave to visit various pilgrimages in Gujarat. During his trip, the CEC is scheduled to visit Somnath, Dwarka and Gandhi Nagar. Gopalaswami, an Indian Administrative Service officer from the Gujarat cadre, speaks the native language fluently and considers the state his second home.
Several opposition leaders on Sunday criticised the bill on the appointment and service conditions of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners at an all-party meeting as "anti-Constitution" and "anti-democratic", sources said.
Shettar has been given the ticket from Hubli-Dharwad-Central Assembly segment which he currently represents.
The system of 'selecting' an election commissioner, which is before the Supreme Court, must be institutionalised.
The recommendation comes about three months before Gopalaswami is to demit office on April 20 and is based on a petition by the BJP which had complained against the "partisan" functioning of Chawla. The BJP had alleged that Chawla was close to the Congress party
The government is also likely to appoint another election commissioner along with Chawla's elevation. This would mean till April 21, 2009 the Election Commission might have four members.
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)."
Strange that the Law Ministry acted as the legal adviser to Chawla who sought its opinion on the explanation sought by CEC N Gopalaswami and now its minister claims that the CEC has no powers to recommend an election commissioner's removal unless asked for by the President, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted. The Congress was, however, quick to rubbish the BJP charge of the nexus between Bhardwaj and Chawla.
Chronological order of events leading up to Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami recommending the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla.
Union Law Minister H Bharadwaj on Monday slammed Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami for 'overstepping his powers' by recommending the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla to President Pratibha Patil."The CEC overstepped his powers. His allegations are unfortunate. He cannot behave like a political boss," Bharadwaj told mediapersons in New Delhi on Monday. He added that Chawla will take over as the next CEC once Gopalaswami demits office on April 20.
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.
Heavy snowfall has made movement in Jammu and Kashmir difficult, but the Election Commission is determined not to postpone the elections.
"The Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held between mid-April and mid-May. We have no particular interest in advancing it unless there is an absolutely great need for that," Gopalaswami said.
In an exclusive chat, N Gopalaswami says how the Election Commission ensured a smooth, trouble-free election in Gujarat.
With the Election Commission (EC) facing flak from some quarters for announcing eight-phase Assembly polls in West Bengal, officials on Friday said the polling had to be spread out due to festivals, the movement of security forces and an increased number of polling stations keeping in mind the Covid protocols.
This was announced by CEC N Gopalaswamy.
52 lakh voters were deleted and 48 lakh were added in Uttar Pradesh's electoral rolls.
The Delimitation Commission, Gopalaswami said, will submit its final recommendations in two months and this will come into force after the presidential notification.
Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Maharashtra, Railways, Services and Association of Indian Universities (AIU) will not have any voting rights in case there is an election during the BCCI AGM on October 23.
A fresh public interest litigation was Monday filed in the Supreme Court claiming that the appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was arbitrary and made without any transparency.
The Election Commission has rejected a demand to make mandatory the filing of affidavits by candidates in the Presidential poll disclosing their assets and criminal record, if any.
Members of the civil society including former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami, ex-navy chief L Ramdas and former cabinet secretary T S R Subramanian on Thursday approached the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored Special Investigation Team probe into the coal block allocation scam.
In a letter to the Election Commission, the National Election Watch has sought to know why there is no background declaration by the candidates contesting for the office of President of India. This information has been sought by the National Election Watch in a letter written to the Election Commission of India.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her American counterpart Mike Pompeo have agreed to reschedule the postponed '2+2 dialogue'.
In the short to medium term India's scarce resources would be better served by focusing on reducing the disparity with China in space. Developing ASAT capability is something that can wait, write Bharath Gopalaswamy and Harsh V Pant.
The government on Sunday rejected Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's recommendation for removal of Navin Chawla as Election Commissioner, paving the way for his appointment to the key constitutional post. A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said President Pratibha Patil has accepted the government recommendation for rejection of the CEC's report against Chawla and arrived at a "considered opinion".
"I am right", Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami said on Sunday, unfazed by the sharp criticism to his recommendation for the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla for "partisan" functioning.
In a curious case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing, the Law Ministry has released the letter written by former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami to the President seeking removal of fellow Election Commissioner Navin Chawla while the Rashtrapati Bhawan had declined to make the document public.
Navin Chawla is the other Election Commissioner.
Alleging that the Chief Election Commissioner's controversial recommendation for removal of his colleague has eroded the credibility of the poll body, the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Friday claimed the CEC himself has violated the independence of the Election Commission.
The Centre on Saturday rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for immediate removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, on the basis of Chief Election commissioner N Gopalaswami's recommendation, stating that the positions held by the three election commissioners are constitutional posts.Replying to a question raised by rediff.com, Home minister P Chidambaram said, "They hold constitutional positions and neither you nor I can change that position".
As he prepares to leave his office, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami on Saturday defended his controversial recommendation for the removal of Navin Chawla, who will succeed him on Tuesday and suggested that future appointments of Election Commissioners be made by a collegium and not the government.
Soaring security expenses mean this month's parliamentary election will cost India over 50 per cent more than the last such poll in 2004.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is meeting leaders of different political parties in Srinagar on Friday after dedicating the Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project at Chanderkote, Ramban in Jammu region to the people. The meeting is being held, about 48-hours after a three-member Election Commission of India, headed by Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami held detailed interactions with the representatives of seven national and three state recognised political parties.
Raising questions about the impartiality of the Election Commission ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said on Wednesday the EC should prove by its deeds that it was a neutral body.
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