CEC-EC show: Centre on Chawla’s side

The government strongly hints the latter is the chosen one. Says Gopalaswami misinterpreted his powers

CEC-EC show: Centre on Chawla's side

The government strongly hints the latter is the chosen one. Says Gopalaswami misinterpreted his powers

In the face-off between Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami and Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, the Central government seems to have taken the latter's side. Rejecting Gopalaswami's recommendation for the removal of Chawla, the government on Monday clearly spelt out that Chawla will be the next man to head the poll body.

Citing its policy to appoint the senior-most election commissioner as the CEC, Law Minister HR Bhardwaj said there would be no deviation from that rule. "Navin Chawla is the senior most EC today. We will begin the process to put in place a new CEC well in time so that the name of Gopalaswami's successor is clear before he retires on April 20," said Bhardwaj.

Meanwhile, the political daggers that were drawn at the beginning of this drama have been sharpened with the BJP criticising the Congress move to back Chawla. Talking to MiD DAY, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh said, "We had raised the issue of Chawla's appointment to maintain the credibility of the constitutional institution. Now, the government should take a decision on whether it wants to maintain the credibility and dignity of the institution."

On Sunday, joining the debate, Leader of the Opposition LK Advani presented a detailed case on his blog in support of the CEC. "It would be educative to compare Article 124 dealing with the Supreme Court, with Article 324 laying down provisions relating to the Election Commission," said Advani in his blog.

The said Article provides that neither the Chief Justice of India nor any other judge of the Supreme Court can be removed from office except by a process of impeachment laid down by Parliament.

Talking to MiD DAY, Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said, "Advani's interpretation of the powers available to the CEC under Article 324 (5), is erroneous. This unfortunate controversy terms out of the CEC's misinterpretation of the powers available to him."