How serious is election panel's censuring of Rahul Gandhi?

While citics once again lambasted the 'toothless EC', former Election Commissioner, however vouchsafe for the ''seriousness of Election Commission's censure'' and its deterrent effect

The Election Commission’s censure of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s controversial remarks after issuing him a notice for “violation of the Model Code of Conduct” has raised questions about the efficacy of the censure.

The Election Commission on Wednesday had taken “exception to the tone, tenor and content of the impugned portions of your speeches”. Conveying its “displeasure”, the commission advised Gandhi to be “more circumspect in your public utterances during election campaigns”.

While critics have lambasted the “toothless EC”, former chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi says: “The moral authority of such an order of the EC is very strong and when a senior politician is reprimanded, he or she is likely to be more cautious in future.” Quraishi said the EC order’s impact is “immediate and effective”.

N Gopalaswami, another former CEC, agrees: “The Election Commission order has moral value and so far the political leadership has been deferential to such orders.”

The EC’s action is based on a complaint by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against some of Gandhi’s poll speeches in which he accused the opposition party of instigating communal hatred during the recent Muzaffarnagar riots.

The Model Code of Conduct is a voluntary code with no legal backing,  endorsed by all political parties. Therefore, a controversial statement or action could either invoke a violation of the code or, depending on the seriousness, could be booked as an offence under existing criminal law.

According to Quraishi, barring a candidate from contesting polls is not within the Election Commission’s mandate; a ban can be invoked only after a court debars the candidate for committing an offence.

Earlier, the Election Commission had taken action against member of Parliament Jaya Bachchan and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

While Bachchan was disqualified on the grounds of holding “office of profit”, it censured Sonia Gandhi for her “maut ka saudaagar” comment on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Later, the EC censured Modi, too, for making retaliatory comments.

On the limitations of the EC’s powers, Quraishi says: “The EC can only admonish, censure, caution, reprimand and advise; but this is not to be under-estimated.”