PMO Did Not Summon CEC, Letter Was Meant for EC Secretary: Law Ministry

According to media reports, the wording of the letter breached precedent and constitutional norms.

Clarifying the intent behind the unusually-worded letter sent to the Election Commission for a meeting with the PMO, the law ministry said that the letter was meant for Election Commission Secretary and not the Chief Election Commissioner, reported PTI on Saturday, 18 December.

The law ministry, in a statement, said that the meeting with PMO, which was attended by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and the two Election Commissioners, Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey, was to iron out differences over electoral reforms.

“It was not addressed to the Chief Election Commissioner. Since Election Commission of India has the necessary expertise and mandate regarding electoral roll and in the light of the previous letters of the Chief Election Commissioner addressed to the Law Minister, Secretary, Legislative Department thought it appropriate to invite officials of Election Commission to this meeting."

Law Ministry statement

The law ministry added that the “subsequent interaction with the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners was an informal one and meant for ironing out two or three aspects for the final proposal.”

Why the Letter is Controversial

The letter, according to an Indian Express report, read like a “summons” aimed at the Chief Election Commission since it read “expects CEC” be present. This kind of wording, according to the report, breached precedent and constitutional norms.

The function of the Election Commission, being a constitutional authority, is protected from any influence from the Executive and the three commissioners (Chandra, Kumar and Pandey) are to maintain a distance from the Centre to ensure impartial functioning of the body.

Though the Election Commission, according to an Indian Express report, expressed displeasure on the tone of the letter, the three subsequently joined the meeting which was chaired by Principal Secretary to PM PK Mishra.

Opposition leaders have criticised the letter and the subsequent meeting, with Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raising questions about impartiality of the upcoming Assembly elections, reported The Indian Express.

“The EC is supposed to be independent. How can they call the EC? Then how can we expect that the elections will be impartial? How can we expect that we will get justice in the forthcoming elections?” reported The Indian Express, quoting Kharge.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)