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.
The Election Commission is yet to hear from the government on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's idea of overseas Indian passport holders voting in the next general elections.
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.
The Election Commission on Thursday expressed confidence on organising "free, fair and transparent" Lok Sabha elections, which is scheduled between April 16 and May 13.
The official announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule, tentatively scheduled on Sunday, has been delayed as Election Commissioner Navin Chawla has taken a two-day leave. The sudden move has triggered speculations that the EC was biding for more time, to give the United Progressive Alliance government an opportunity to continue its advertisements, before the model code of conduct comes into force with the announcement of the poll schedule.
Decks were cleared on Thursday for holding of assembly elections in the state, which has been under President's Rule for the last nine months, with the Union Cabinet approving dissolution of the 81-member House.
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.
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.
The CEC's letter to the President recommending Chawla's removal is just two pages long while he has dealt with 12 specific cases of partisanship in another 24 pages and annexed more than 800 pages of the Election Commission minutes, internal correspondence, etc in support of the case he has built up.
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.
With Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami recommending the removal of his colleague Navin Chawla, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday demanded "firm action" on the issue saying the "credibility" of the poll panel is "at stake".
The opposition alliance believes "compulsive abstention" has no place in presidential elections.
A day after Election Commission rejected his claim that Electronic Voting Machines are not tamper-proof, former bureaucrat Omesh Saigal on Tuesday stuck to his charge that a particular software can be used to rig the polls.
S Y Quraishi, Election Commissioner, was on Tuesday appointed the new Chief Election Commissioner in the place of Navin Chawla, who demits office on Thursday.
Chief Election Commissioner- designate Navin Chawla wants to put the row with incumbent N Gopalaswami behind, saying he has "no rancour" against him.
Gearing up the machinery ahead of the general elections, the full Election Commission will visit Uttar Pradesh and Bihar this week to review the poll readiness in these two key states in the Hindi heartland which together accounts for 120 seats.
The Congress on Wednesday accused Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami of being favourable to the Bharatiya Janata Party and cited two incidents -- the CD case and distribution of sarees during a rally -- to buttress its point. "For three years, the BJP has accused Election Commissioner Navin Chawla of supporting the Congress. The Congress has rejected it several times. Now, we would like to point out how the CEC has been favourable to the BJP," said a Cong leader.
However, there is no official word on the status of the controversial recommendation of the CEC for the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, though Law Minister H R Bhardwaj has rejected it and had indicated that Chawla will be the next CEC.
An unperturbed Election Commissioner Navin Chawla on Monday attended the office and declared to join the Lok Sabha poll preparation drill that begins from Tuesday with a day-long meeting of the Election Commission with the political parties. Leaders of seven national and 40 recognised state parties have been invited to Nirvachan Sadan on Tuesday to elicit their views on the elections, the dates for which will be finalised only after two other meetings slated this week.
For the sake of neutrality of the Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners, CEC N Gopalaswami wants a bar on their joining any political party for ten years after retirement or taking up any government post. In a three-page note to President Pratibha Patil sent on January 16 when he separately recommended removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, he has sought amendment in the Election Commission Act for the purpose.
Constitutional experts on Saturday attacked Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's decision to suo motu recommend removal of Navin Chawla as Election Commissioner, saying the move has created a 'crisis' and its timing just ahead of the elections could make people believe there is 'some motivation'.
"If you ask me is it feasible (to have compulsory voting) in a election on a national scale. It is not," he told reporters in New Delhi on the sidelines of the Election Commission's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
The Yoga Federation of India contended that the recognition granted to the National Yogasana Sports Federation is arbitrary and suffers from malafide intentions.
'Do these worthies have a right and a moral authority to tell women all these codes of conduct while they flounder and abuse every bit of simple, civil behaviour in their life?'
Rejecting the contention of political parties like Bharatiya Janata Party, AIADMK and CPI(M) that electronic voting machines (EVMs) were tampered with during the Lok Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla today said no one was able to prove it.
The court was informed that though the government's affidavit has been filed, it was not on record.
The BJP, which has demanded the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, said it will oppose the government's plans to amend the Constitution 'tooth and nail'.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday said the Income Tax department is bound by its assurance to maintain confidentiality of the material seized during a survey operation at news portal Newslaundry's premises and to ensure that it is not leaked.
Stepping up their offensive, a National Democratic Alliance delegation Saturday met President A P J Abdul Kalam with an appeal to direct Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to forward an opposition petition for the removal of Election Commissioner Chawla.
The NDA contended that Chawla's continuation as the election commissioner would put a question mark on the credibility of the Election Commission in the upcoming elections to five state assemblies.
The EC has also to act on the complaint made to the President against Navin Chawla.
A bench headed by acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi, which was hearing a petition against the allegedly obnoxious posts on Maa Kali by user 'AtheistRepublic', directed Twitter to explain how it undertakes the blocking of accounts.
Chief Elections Commissioner N Gopalaswami and Election Commissioners Navin Chawla and S Y Qureshi will meet representatives of six main political parties later in the day.
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
SC notice to Centre, EC over Chawla's removal
Long before he became an election commissioner, Chawla had accepted funds from MPs local area development funds for some trusts run by him and his family.
Election Commissioners Navin Chawla and Qureshi have threatened to postpone the Gujarat election process and bring President's Rule in the state if the Bharatiya Janata Party fans communal violence in Gujarat through its new CD, which is to be released in the birth place of Sardar Patel.
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