The Law Ministry said that in the original meeting notice from the PMO on November 12, it was addressed to the Cabinet Secretary, Law Secretary and Secretary and Legislative Department and not to the CEC.
In view of the growing controversy over the Modi government sending a letter to the Election Commission and calling it in the meeting, now an explanation has come from the Law Ministry on this. The ministry said in its statement that the letter “categorically stated” that the meeting is expected to be attended by a “secretary or representative of the Chief Election Commissioner familiar with the subject”. Further, the ministry has admitted that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) had expressed “displeasure” over the letter regarding being called to a meeting on the Common Electoral Roll. The Indian Express had mentioned this in its report on December 17. Let us tell you that the letter sent by the Modi government to the Election Commission has raised many important questions regarding the autonomy, impartiality and constitutional etiquette of the commission. According to the news of The Indian Express, in this letter sent by the Law Ministry to the Commission, it was said that a meeting is being convened under the chairmanship of PK Mishra, Principal Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, in which the Chief Election Commissioner is expected to be present. She goes.
Let us tell you that the opposition had also reacted strongly on this matter. Attacking the central government on Friday, the opposition alleged that the government has fallen further in the matter of destroying institutions in the country. Surjewala said in a statement, ‘Things have been exposed. The things that were being said till now are true.
Law Ministry statement
Giving its clarification on this matter, the Law Ministry has said that the meeting of November 16 was to finalize the cabinet note on the long pending reforms and it was a virtual meeting. “The subsequent interactions with the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners were informal. This meeting was organized to consider two or three aspects for the final proposal.
The Law Ministry further said that the original meeting notice from the PMO on November 12 was addressed to the Cabinet Secretary, Law Secretary and Secretary and Legislative Department and not to the CEC. The ministry further said that it had sent a letter to the representatives of the Election Commission to attend the meeting of the PMO as the poll panel has the necessary expertise with regard to electoral roles.
According to the statement, the letter from the Law Ministry was addressed to an officer of the rank of Secretary in the Commission and the last operative paragraph of the letter also requested the Secretary of the Election Commission to attend the meeting. However, the subject line of the letter dated November 15 reads, “Video conference on Common Electoral Role with PMO – Interaction with CEC – regarding.” The letter said, “I am directed to attach a note received from PMO dated 12.11.2021 and to state that the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister will preside over the meeting on Common Electoral Roll at 4 PM through video-conferencing. do. Expect the CEC to be present during the conference.”
Controversy over PMO’s ‘informal’ discussion with the three election commissioners, questions also raised on the language of the official letter
Chief Election Commissioner had expressed displeasure
The Law Ministry said that after the letter was received by the Election Commission, “the Chief Election Commissioner spoke to the Secretary, Legislative Department. He expressed his displeasure over the middle part of the letter, giving the impression that the CEC was expected to attend the meeting. The Secretary of the Legislative Department clarified that the letter was to the Secretary or a representative of the CEC familiar with the subject.
The ministry further said, “This meeting on 16.11.2021 was held virtually and no physical meeting was held in the PMO. Officials of the Government of India and the officials of the Election Commission of India participated in this virtual meeting. After the meeting of the officials, some issues needed further discussion. These issues include the number of qualifying dates for updation of electoral rolls, some aspects of Aadhaar linkage and the demand for premises. After the official meeting, a separate informal conversation was held with the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. It may be noted that the discussions were held virtually and with all the three commissioners of the ECI.” The Indian Express quoted a senior Election Commission official as saying that the interaction was “informal”. The Law Ministry said that the November 16 meeting was held to discuss electoral reforms in the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021, which was recently approved by the Union Cabinet. The statement said that several proposals of the Election Commission regarding electoral reforms are pending.
Financial Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Biz news and updates.
.