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EC suggestion on President's rule made govt challenge order: Advani

The Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani on Monday asserted that the Election Commission's opinion that President's rule will have to be imposed in Gujarat after the expiry of six months of the last assembly sitting had made the government refer the issue to the Supreme Court through a Presidential reference.

"If he (Chief Election Commissioner) had confined his observation to simply his opinion that the law and order situation there is not favourable for an election, may be you could have differed with it. But it would not have been anything, which could be legally challenged," Advani told the television channel Star News.

"But when the EC puts in a paragraph which says that not holding the election before October 6 would mean a constitutional crisis, a constitutional breakdown, then... anyone who goes through the order would be able to identify that particular paragraph. I feel surprised that the EC should have written it at all," Advani said.

He was responding to a question on whether it was proper on the part of the government to enter into a 'confrontation' with the Election Commission.

Also See:
President's rule in Gujarat is no remedy: Governor

Gujarat Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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