Rejection of CEC's recommendation political decision: BJP

Terming President Pratibha Patil's rejection of CEC's recommendation for removal of colleague Navin Chawla as unfortunate, BJP said it was a "political decision" on a "strictly constitutional matter".

Terming President Pratibha Patil's rejection of CEC's recommendation for removal of colleague Navin Chawla as unfortunate, BJP on Sunday said it was a "political decision" on a "strictly constitutional matter".

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"The government has taken a political decision on a strictly constitutional matter," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar told PTI.

"It is an unfortunate decision for the country. The citizens also have right to know the details of the CEC letter which is supposed to be a remark on the conduct of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla," he said.

BJP alongwith its NDA allies have been mobilising support against Chawla and had even made a representation to the President for his removal. Senior party leader Jaswant Singh had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in this regard.

"The UPA rule of last five years would be remembered in the history as the government which played with the constitutional bodies like Supreme Court, Election Commission and CBI for its political interest," Javdekar said.

Accepting the government's recommendation for rejection of the CEC's report against Chawla, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique on Sunday said Patil arrived at a "considered opinion" after "careful consideration of the report, the government's recommendation, constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court judgement".