Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused the Election Commission of capitulating to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the poll panel is neither feared nor respected anymore.
“From Electoral Bonds & EVMs to manipulating the election schedule, NaMo TV, “Modi’s Army” & now the drama in Kedarnath; the Election Commission’s capitulation before Mr Modi & his gang is obvious to all Indians. The EC used to be feared & respected. Not anymore,” he tweeted.
The Congress had earlier accused the EC of being partial. The poll panel has also found itself embroiled in a controversy after election commissioner Ashok Lavasa recused himself from meetings of the three-member ECI pertaining to complaints on Model Code of Conduct violations until his demand for inclusion of the minority decision in the Commission’s final order is met.
Lavasa has dissented on clean chits the ECI handed to Prime Minister Narenda Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah in disposing of complaints of MCC violations made by opposition parties.
The election commission’s decision to clear PM Modi and Amit Shah in all cases of poll code violations was criticised by the opposition parties.
Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Saturday played down differences in the poll panel.
“The three members of EC are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can, and should be,’ Arora said in a statement on election commissioner Ashok Lavasa’s purported letter to him.
{{/usCountry}}“The three members of EC are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can, and should be,’ Arora said in a statement on election commissioner Ashok Lavasa’s purported letter to him.
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