Explained | Questioning the impartiality of the Election Commission
The Hindu
Why did the note by the Government raise questions about the functioning of the Commission? How did the CEC respond to the letter?
Raising questions of propriety, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra met with Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, P. K. Mishra, on November 16, where he was “expected to be present.” An official communication from the Law Ministry, which is the administrative ministry of the Commission, said the meeting had been called to discuss electoral reforms. Also, the Ministry claimed that the session with the CEC and Election Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anup Chandra Pandey was an “informal interaction”.
The “directive” from the PMO has raised concerns about the independent functioning of the Commission, whose autonomy successive CECs have sought to protect zealously. The “informal interaction” of the CEC and two other Election Commissioners with the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary has raised questions about the neutrality of the Commission, especially when elections to crucial States are around the corner.