It is to be seen whether the ECI can take action against the duo for their hate crimes, violating the MCC with impunity. No wonder, the current Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora having been long associated with the RSS stalwart late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as a key player in his retinue can be least expected to be fair. Nevertheless, it is testing time for the ECI.
One thought the ECI had sunk to its lowest credibility under the stewardship of Ratan Kumar Joti, the then CEC, for his two unprecedented action while announcing elections to the State Legislative Assemblies of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat but deferring the polling in Gujarat by one month to enable the PM and the ruling BJP to announce elections eve sops to the people, and the most blatant partisan and arbitrary action disqualifying 22 MLAS of AAP in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, which was later quashed by the High Court of Delhi. His successor Chief Election Commissioner(CEC) O.P.Rawat was equally bad as he postponed his press conference to enable the PM to announce some sops before enforcing the MCC. Present ECI is even worst, like a deep sleeping lion who could be woken up only by the apex court, indicating the lowest credibility of the present ECI, making a bonfire of Justice, Equality and Fair-play, the hallmark of the rule of law based system of democratic governance.
Well, the Article 324 of Constitution of India that provides for a reservoir of unbridled power and authority to the ECI to conduct free and fair poll without any fear or favour is being compromised by the current ECI because either it is conducting itself as partisan or seen to be so conducting itself with half-hearted and selective approaches. For the purpose of conducting free and fair elections, the ECI enjoys absolute power as entire official machinery of both the Central and State Governments is at its disposal during the processes of electioneering from the date of enforcement of MCC to the conclusion of elections. During the poll processes, the ECI is lord unto itself. It is in this context that ECI must not be conducting free and fair polling processes but be seen to be doing so. Present ECI does not seem to be doing so, thus putting the democratic processes in jeopardy.
People of India rue the days when the then CEC T.N.Sheshan raised the bar high and glorified the ECI in conducting free and fair elections with iron hand and the ECI got its deserved rightful place in the scheme of the Constitution of India. One hopes the ECI will rise to the occasion to ensure a level playing field for all contestants and not make a laughing stock of itself among the people as also in the comity of nations!
INDIA
ECI’S CREDIBILITY AT ALL TIME LOW
M.Y. Siddiqui - 2019-04-17 07:26
With the Election Commission of India’s(ECI’s) public credibility having sunk the lowest in the ongoing General Elections 2019 to the Lok Sabha (House of the People) with its inability toenforce the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) with iron hand allowing all political parties and individual Independent candidates a level playing field, the political discourse in the electioneering campaign has been most toxic, polarizing, divisive and full of hatreds as never before. Such vicious campaign is led by the Prime Minister and the ruling Bhartya Janata Dal (BJP) Chief, which is also unprecedented. ECI has, so far, been a silent spectator. Now that it has been woken up by the Supreme Court of India, it has responded feebly to hate crimes in the electioneering speeches of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, an eminent leader of Samajwadi Party by banning them from electioneering campaign for 72 hours to 48 hours, the real test of ECI will be in censuring the Prime Minister and BJP Chief for their hate campaign as also seeking votes in the name of security forces, Balakot strikes and Pulwama terror attack on CRPF convoys without explaining how the lone wolf terrorist came to strike with a heavy loads of improvised explosive devices when the entire Jammu-Srinagar highway was prohibited to private transport and public for three days and fully sanitised.