A letter from the Modi government has created a constitutional uproar.
A letter from the Modi government has created a ruckus about constitutional etiquette. Election Commission’s CEC (Chief Election Commissioner) Sushil Chandra and two election commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anoop Chandra Pandey were part of an online conversation convened by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday raising questions about the appropriateness. The online interaction took place a day after the poll panel’s administrative ministry, the law ministry, sent a letter to the Election Commission. It was said in this letter that PK Mishra, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, would lead a meeting regarding the Common Electoral Role in which the Chief Election Commissioner was also expected to be present.
According to an official, the use of such words for the Chief Election Commissioner was considered as a summon which violates the constitutional rules. Earlier last year, in 2020, a meeting was held twice, on 13 August and 3 September, in which the officials of the Election Commission participated, not the commissioners.
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Informally discussed with the Prime Minister’s Secretary
Chandra was not available to comment on the issue but a senior commission official said that the Chief Election Commissioner had expressed his displeasure in a note to the Law Ministry regarding this and said that he would not attend the meeting. When asked about this note, the law ministry official refused to say anything. Although Chandra attended the meeting with the other two commissioners, the meeting with Mishra was informal and Mishra had already had a video meeting with the commission’s subordinates. According to a senior official, many long-pending reforms like fixing multiple cut-off dates for common electoral roles were discussed in this meeting. This meeting was in a way a part of the reforms approved by the cabinet on Wednesday.
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questions about the rationale
Asked about the rationale for talks between the Election Commission and the PMO, a senior official said it was informal, not a meeting. The commissioners did not discuss the assembly elections to be held in the five states and it was limited to the implementation of electoral reforms at the earliest. Despite this, however, questions are being raised about the constitutional propriety as the EC’s liaison with the government on electoral matters remains confined to the administrative ministry, the law ministry. The Commission talks to the Ministry of Home Affairs to make arrangements for security during elections. After this, only if needed, government officials can talk to the three election commissioners.
(Source: Indian Express)
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