Click to play videoNew Delhi: In the face-off between Election Commissioner Navin Chawla and CEC, N Gopalaswami, the Government took Chawla's side.
Law Minister H R Bhardwaj virtually spelled out the Government’s viewpoint. “Navin Chawla is the senior most EC today,” he said, indicating Gopalaswami shouldn't have acted on his own and recommended Chawla's removal.
Even the Congress backed the government on this sticky Constitutional question. “The removing authority in any constitutional or government position is only the appointing authority,” Congress Spokesperson, Manish Tewari, said.
The CEC may have recommended the removal of his colleague but exclusive information with CNN-IBN now shows that EC, meant to keep a watch on politics, is mired in politics itself.
Apart from constitutional propriety, there's another debate on the timing of the recommendation and the sequence of events preceding it.
CEC has said that Chawla delayed his response and that's why he wrote to the President only now.
CNN-IBN has learnt that CEC waited for seven months before asked Chawla to explain. The BJP complain had come to him on January 31, 2008. CEC's first letter was mailed to Chawla on July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008: Chawla wrote back to the CEC demanding more time to respond
September 12, 2008. Chawla sent his reply and questioned the CEC's locus standi. He wrote another letter on the same day to the Union Law Secretary seeking clarification. He kept the CEC informed.
September 17, 2008: CEC did not accept Chawla's reply. He demanded another reply from Chawla ``on merit.''
November 7, 2008:: Union Law Secretary wrote to Navin Chawla saying that CEC has to first seek reference from the President. Secretary informed Chawla no such reference had been made.
December 10, 2008: Chawla wrote to the CEC again questioning his locus standi.
The BJP supports Gopalaswami and says that the government is misinterpreting the Constitution
“The argument that CEC cannot take a decision unless approved by government is complete misreading of Article 324 (5) of Constitution,” says BJP Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad.
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