EC attacked: Jaitley, Chouhan question poll panel's action against Modi

Two senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Arun Jaitley and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Thursday publicly questioned the Election Commission (EC) for its action against the party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, and the media. They said the EC overstepped its jurisdiction when it interpreted Modi’s address to media soon after casting his vote in Ahmedabad on Wednesday as a violation of the model code of conduct (MCC).

“When Constitutional institutions react in haste and even anger, they miss out the larger vision,” said Jaitley, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Chouhan, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, went a step further by slamming the EC also for continuing to impose the code even after the voting process was over in his state. He accused the EC of being anti-development.

He tweeted on Thursday how Madhya Pradesh “since last September, barring a brief breather, suffers vexatious weight of Model Code of Conduct (and) will continue to suffer (for) 20 more days”. Madhya Pradesh saw Assembly elections in November 2013, followed by Lok Sabha polls and is slated to have civic elections.

Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman maintained the BJP respected the EC and would abide by all its directions. She said the party would reply to the EC’s notice to Modi in a few coming days.

According to party sources, Jaitley and Chouhan had criticised the EC in their personal capacities, with Jaitley having posted his views on his blog while Chouhan on his twitter handle and that this wasn’t BJP’s official position.

Jaitley, also a lawyer, vociferously defended Modi. He said it was nearly routine for media to throng senior politicians for comments after they cast their vote. “The politicians freely interact with the media. They make short comments and then leave. This is precisely what Narendra Modi did,” said Jaitley.

Jaitley questioned EC’s claim that Modi held the “public meeting” within the polling area. He said it wasn’t clear from the EC’s notice “what the definition of polling area is”.

He pointed out the instance of Amartya Sen, who spoke to the media after his vote on Wednesday in West Bengal, spelling out his reasons why he does not favour Modi. Similarly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also spoke to the media after casting his vote in Assam. “So did most other political leaders. I am not pleading for their prosecution. I am only illustrating that an interpretation being given by the Election Commission may fall foul,” he noted.

The lawyer argued that Article 324 of the Constitution, that gives the EC its powers to conduct elections, is a reservoir of residuary jurisdiction. "It can't impact areas occupied by law. It cannot dilute the import and content of the right to free speech," he said.