Click to play videoThe battle within the Election Commission just two months ahead of the General Elections is an issue that has split the political class of the country as well. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami has written a letter to President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on January 16 asking his colleague Navin Chawla to be sacked.
The CEC sought Chawla's dismissal on grounds of 'partisanship'. The CEC has reportedly questioned Chawla's role while deciding poll dates for Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Gopalaswami is also said to have questioned Chawla's decision to consult Ministry of External Affairs on issuing a notice to Sonia Gandhi on the Belgian honour issue.
However, Chawla is likely to be the next CEC after Gopalaswami retires on April 20, 2009.
The BJP contends that Article 324(5) of the Constitution places the CEC on a higher footing than other ECs and gives him the powers to remove an election commissioner. The Government's stand is that the President alone has powers to remove other ECs and that the CEC is not the political boss.
To discuss the issue on Weekend Edition Rajdeep Sardesai was joined by Union Minister for Science and Technology and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal and BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
Rajdeep Sardesai: have you both been responsible for politicising the office of the Election Commissioner. Mr Jaitley, are you batting for the Chief Election Commissioner as you have taken up the issue?
Arun Jaitley: Well there is no question of batting for the Chief Election Commissioner. I am batting for the independence of the Election Commission. The real is not that you remove an election commissioner if he is proved to be biased in the course of his functioning. The real question is should the person from whom some element of bias was anticipated because of his past credentials should ever have been appointed. We weaken institutions when we appoint to institutions people with a certain kind of political attachments or political philosophy. It happened in the case of judges from 1973 onwards. This country paid a heavy price for it during the Emergency and when we are trying to politicise the Election Commission, the politicisation is not in terms of seeking the removal of somebody alleged to be biased. The politicisation is should such a person have been appointed ever in the first instance.
Rajdeep Sardesai: So your problem is with the appointment of Navin Chawla per se. You believe he as appointed because he was close to the Congress?
Arun Jaitley: My problem is at the time of appointment because of his past credentials over the last 30 years some kind of attachment to the ruling party was expected. One feels that with the maturity of office people also change but in this case things have only gone worse.
Rajdeep Sardesai: BJP is accused of batting for the Chief Election Commissioner. You are being accused of appointing an Election Commissioner because he was close to the Congress.
Kapil Sibal: They went to the court. They filed a petition in the Supreme Court. Members of their party went to the Supreme Court but they never got any relief
Rajdeep Sardesai: Supreme Court said that the Chief Election Commissioner should come back and tell weather he should recommend any dismissal of the election commissioner, Supreme court did not throw the petition out?
Kapil Sibal: Supreme Court did not give any relief on the appointment and on the issue weather the CEC has the right to recommend or not, the SC stand is clear, that we are not giving any opinion weather this is the right constitutional position or not so if they want any relief, they should have been to the court. They have been politicizing the issue from day one.
Rajdeep Sardesai: But the BJP says the politicization began in a manner in which the politicians were being appointed from day 1
Kapil Sibal: They can appoint anybody they like. Why didn’t they put a system in place when they were in power for six years? Why didn’t they put up a system by which a home secretary should be appointed as a CEC.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Mr Jaitley, Gopalaswamy could be neutral but he was the home secretary when LK Advani was the home minister. Isn’t it true that all political parties want to appoint bureaucrats whom they are comfortable with in crucial constitutional post?
Arun Jaitley: The answer is no. First of all the BJP MP’s never filed a petition in the court challenging Navin Chawla’s appointment. The only petition was filed for a direction to PM’s office that the petition may be forwarded to the CEC.
Even in the past civil servants have been appointed and all civil servants have been appointed as the commissioner whether by the congress governments and non congress governments. Nobody has ever made a complaint at the time of appointment that the person appointed has a political background or any affiliation to the party.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Are you saying that the BJP never appointed anyone close to the BJP?
Arun Jaitley: Yes, never anyone close to the BJP. Mr Gopalaswamy was the secretary of NHRC when chief justice JH Verma was the chairman. Nobody has ever pointed a finger saying that he was appointed due to favouritism.
Kapil Sibal: Remember their track record, when Lyngdoh (James Michael Lyngdoh) was the CEC they attacked him because they did not like his judgement. JS Verma when he was NHRC chairman, they (BJP) attacked him and did not like his judgements. If you want change then put a new system in place when you are r in power, I am ready for anything as long as BJP, when it is power initiates the thing.
Arun Jaitley: Lyngdoh was appointed as CEC when NDA was in power and let me clarify, the need for an independent commission to appoint an election commissioner has never risen in the past as biased people were never appointed. Now that a congress government has set a precedent, it’s a new danger to the democracy and Mr Advani has clearly stated that we need an independent body for the appointment and that is an institutional reform that is required today.
Kapil Sibal: Congress has never gone on record criticising any constitutional authorities. It is the BJP who has done it. Just because they allege something doesn’t mean the man must be removed. There has to be a process through which all the facts that are alleged have to be looked into. Your argument is the CEC says so, whatever he says is binding and the government has to accept, it has no choice. This is the death of independence of these institutions.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Mr Jaitely, this entire controversy may end up destroying the idea of an independent election commission ?
Arun Jaitley: This country can live with independent election commission. What will destroy is the appointment of a biased individual, rejecting the recommendation that an individual is biased and vesting the power in the political executive who is having the power to decide whether the election commissioner is biased or not.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Mr Jaitley, if you come in power in the next few months and Navin Chawla is the CEC, then will you move for his sacking? Will the political executive then try and sack him?
Arun Jaitley: We will always act per the constitution and the issue here is fairness, we are wiling for an amendment in the constitution. Let us institutionalize a fair procedure for the appointment of the members of the election commission. If there is a constitutional power for a government or a party to do (sacking of Navin Chawla) then we will certainly agitate this issue in all forums.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Will you at all consider the possibilities of looking into the charges made by CEC?
Kapil Sibal: When a CEC writes to the governor in whatever capacity , the government has to look into it.
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