While the Election Commission fought within the Supreme Court to revive its ‘tarnished’ picture after the Madras High Court held the officers ‘singularly accountable for the second Covid wave’ and even known as them ‘murderers’, it has come to gentle that the polling physique really thought of deferring the 5 state Assembly elections in view of the rising pandemic.
According to a report by the PTI, Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had thought of deferring a couple of phases of the lately held Assembly polls given the rising variety of Covid circumstances however determined towards it for the reason that imposition of President’s Rule might have confirmed to be “damaging” for the ballot physique.
Sources stated Kumar had proposed to file this affidavit in response to observations made by the Madras High Court for the ballot panel.
Kumar wrote that such a transfer would have prompted “massive hue and cry and popular discontentment” and uncovered the Commission to the accusation of favouring one celebration over one other.
In the draft affidavit, Kumar is realized to have stated that additionally they analysed if merging the final three phases in West Bengal may very well be performed or not and got here to a conclusion clubbing of phases was additionally not attainable beneath the provisions of the Representation of the People Act which states that every election section is distinct and needs to be notified individually.
After the Madras High Cout held EC accountable for the huge surge in Covid circumstances, Kumar volunteered for punishment on a private foundation and appealed that the accusations on the establishment could also be taken again.
He stated that almost 11 lakh personnel deployed in current elections, lots of whom had been frontline staff going through COVID-19 onslaught, could be demoralised and can’t be “a mute spectator to such downgrading of an institution”.
He is known to have stated that as an election commissioner he can’t escape his particular person duty and wished to depart it to the judgement of the courtroom to punish within the method the courtroom was happy to so determine.
In his affidavit, Kumar is claimed to have acknowledged that the courtroom’s oral observations — on the Election Commission’s function in conducting elections throughout the second Covid wave — had demoralised the EC’s rank and file.
Kumar stated that when “murderers”, the outline utilized by the High Court, head or stay a part of the ECI, voters basically and contesting candidates and political events, specifically, can’t belief it to carry free, truthful, clear elections.
When contacted, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra advised PTI, “At this time of the coronavirus pandemic, we should all work for the care of those suffering from COVID-19 and this particular issue (of Madras High Court making observations against the EC) has been settled by the honourable Supreme Court and the ground of the Commission has been allowed. It has been upheld that the comments by the Honourable Madras High Court were absolutely inappropriate… the issue has been settled by the SC.”
