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Cabinet move shows contempt for EC, says opposition

Describing the Cabinet decision as "an assault on the constitutional authority and dignity" of the Election Commission, Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said it "confirms that the BJP government does not respect the institutions empowered under the Constitution for superintendence and conduct of elections".

Pointing out that Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani had said in Parliament that the government would honour the Election Commission's decision on Gujarat, he said, "With today's Cabinet decision, the government has gone back on its promise."

But BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the Election Commission's order had created "an atmosphere of constitutional confusion and the only option to clear it was referring it to the President". He said the BJP felt that the conditions prevailing in Gujarat were "normal and suitable for holding polls".

In Ahmedabad, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed the Union Cabinet's decision. Modi said the Election Commission had acted contrary to the provisions of the Constitution in deciding not to hold early assembly elections in the state.

Communist Party of India, Marxist, politician Sitaram Yechury said the Cabinet had "shown utter contempt for the independent existential status of the EC. It also displays their intention to actually use the communal polarisation in Gujarat to their political advantage and against the country's integrity."

Asserting that there was "no constitutional crisis" as was being portrayed by the Cabinet, Yechury said Article 324 gives the Election Commission the "sole right to determine whether they can hold free and fair elections" and Article 174 "applies only to a live assembly".

In a statement, the CPI, Marxist-Leninist, while criticising the Cabinet decision, said the President "should take this opportunity to affirm the autonomy and dignity of the EC and recommend dismissal of the Narendra Modi government and impose President's rule in Gujarat".

Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann also came out in support of the stand taken by the Election Commission in delaying the polls in riot-affected Gujarat.

Mann told reporters that the politics of "ultra-nationalism have no place in the Indian ethos as our liberal democracy simply cannot digest aggressive political activism", which, he said, would boomerang on the BJP.

"How can elections be held in Gujarat when the electoral rolls are not complete there and the Muslims are still living in camps?" Mann said.

But the man in the middle of the storm, Chief Election Commissioner James Lyngdoh, refused to react to the Cabinet's decision. "No comment," was all that he said to questions from reporters in Srinagar before entering the International Convention Centre to review security arrangements for the forthcoming election in Jammu & Kashmir.

Asked if the atmosphere was conducive for holding elections in Jammu & Kashmir, Lyngdoh said, "It is too early to comment."

The state's chief electoral officer, divisional commissioners, director general of police, other top officers of the state police, the Border Security Force, and the Central Reserve Police Force, and the state home secretary were among those present at the meeting.

PTI

Gujarat Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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