Opposition slams PMO's 'informal' meeting with poll panel

Congress says 'summoning' calls into question the poll panel's autonomy

Members of the Opposition slammed the central government over the "summoning" of the Election Commission for a meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), alleging that the poll authority had become a "subservient tool" of the government. 

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and fellow commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anoop Chandra Pandey recently held “informal interaction” with the PMO to bridge gaps in understanding of key electoral reforms between the poll panel and the law ministry.

CEC Chandra reportedly had reservations on a note from a Law Ministry official. The note reportedly said that the prime minister’s Principal Secretary P K Mishra will “chair a meeting” on a common electoral roll and “expects CEC” to be present.

The Congress had contended that such a meeting raised questions of propriety.

“Cat is out of the bag! What was whispered till now is a fact. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) summoning the Election Commission of India was unheard of in independent India. Treating EC as a subservient tool is yet another low in Modi Government's record of destroying every institution,” Randeep Surjewala, a Congress leader, said on Twitter, tagging news reports in this regard.

Responding to the news report, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi said it was “absolutely shocking”. When asked to explain his remarks, he said his words have summed up everything.

Congress leader Manish Tewari submitted a notice to move an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on the "summoning" of EC.  “Why was the Election Commission summoned summarily and whether it is a fact that the Commission took umbrage to the manner in which they were virtually compelled to attend the meeting in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)," Tewari said. “What exactly are the implications with regard to the autonomy of the Election Commission?"

Summoning of a constitutional authority such as the EC, shows the “hegemonical attitude” of the government, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader T R Baalu said.

The EC sources said that the informal interaction resulted in the Union Cabinet on Wednesday clearing various electoral reforms that the EC had been insisting be brought in the ongoing Winter Session.

One of the reforms is linking Aadhaar with electoral rolls on a voluntary basis. The other will allow eligible young people to register as voters on four dates every year. As of now there is one qualifying date —January 1 of every year — to register as a voter for those who have turned 18 or above on January 1.