EC defends neutral administration plea

NEW DELHI, Aug 27 (PTI) — The Election Commission today strongly defended its suggestion for a neutral administration in the four states going to polls in November this year and asserted that despite its rejection by the BJP and the Congress, "the issue remains."

Stating that he was "not surprised" at the reaction of political parties, Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill said the suggestion was made in the wake of concern expressed by opposition parties that free and fair elections were not possible under the ruling party in power.

"It is their impression and not our invention," Mr Gill said in response to questions adding that these political parties had "sadly" stated that they had no faith in the state administration and the police for ensuring impartial polls.

In an interview to PTI, Mr Gill had suggested that Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Mizoram (two each from the BJP and the Congress) should resign to put in place a neutral administration under Governor’s rule to help conduct clean elections.

Addressing a Press conference on preparations being made for Assembly polls in the four states where the five-year tenure of legislatures comes to an end in December this year, Mr Gill said the British model under which the party in power continues to hold office during elections was "non-ideal" for the country.

Mr Gill said "occasionally the commission throws up a suggestion for debate. One day we will have to come to a solution. The debate is on and it will go on".

Backing the CEC, Election Commissioner G.V.G. Krishnamurty took strong objection to political parties saying that Mr Gill should not make such comments. "If we cannot raise it as Election Commissioners who else can do it ?" he asked.

Mr Krishnamurty said with coalition governments in power, there was need for a "dynamic and neutral" administration prior to polls so that parties in the ruling coalition do not derive an advantage.

He cited the example of Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Greece where, he said, neutral administration under non-political persons assumed office soon after elections were announced.

Mr Krishnamurty also contended that the last Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir under Governor’s rule were impartial as officials on election duty discharged their functions "dispassionately".

Though he termed the rejection of Mr Gill’s suggestion by parties as "rather unfortunate", Mr Krishnamurty said philosophically "in our country every new suggestion takes time to be accepted. Rejection in effect means that people are concerned".

Maintaining that every political party must have the "same advantage" during polls, Mr Krishnamurty recalled that there had been sharp reaction from parties when he suggested that no whip should be issued during presidential and vice-presidential elections.

"It is our duty to raise issues on electoral reforms to get a feed back," he said adding that he "supported" the CEC’s suggestion on neutral administration.

On the forthcoming polls in 630 Assembly seats spread over four states, Mr Gill said it would involve an electorate of about 8.50 crore.

Mr Gill, who presided over the meeting of Chief Electoral Officers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, "we are pretty close to polls and all these states are in active election mode". However, the CEO of Mizoram was not present at the meeting.

He said the commission held intensive dialogue on revision of electoral rolls. Security arrangements, deployment of election observers and use of electronic voting machines in selected constituencies.

The CEC said the issue of state funding of elections was also being debated. In this regard, he said, the commission was holding discussions with Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan for allotting time slots to recognised political parties to air their views during campaigning for the polls.

Mr Gill said such "indirect state funding" had already been put in practice during the last general election when 122 hours of time in All India radio and Doordarshan were allotted to 43 recognised political parties through time vouchers.

He said for the first time, electoral rolls were being made available in CD-roms and comprehensive publications were being brought out by state election authorities incorporating names of fathers of voters and identity card numbers wherever available.

This was aimed at combating the menace of fake voting, he said.

The CEC appealed to political parties to exercise self-restraint. "We will do our best to make it a fair election," he said observing that it would be "hard fought" poll.

Noting that the turn out during last Lok Sabha elections had gone up by four per cent to 62 per cent. He hoped that the coming polls would see an even high number of people casting their ballot.

Mr Gill said he hoped all political parties would stay within a "lakshman rekha of self-restraint," and not misuse incumbency in the coming Assembly elections in four states.

The situation in the country where no political party enjoyed a monopoly on power and was not likely to do so in the foreseeable future made it all the more necessary for self-restraint, he said.

"If, for example, you do it to someone in Delhi then he will do it to you in a state where he is in power," Mr Gill warned.

Sadly, Mr Gill said, there was a widely-held belief that the police and public servants won’t act fairly and that a government in power would dominate any election.

Electronic voting machines will be used for the first time in 16 selected urban constituencies during the coming Assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill announced here today.

Mr Gill said six constituencies from Delhi, five from Jaipur and Ajmer in Rajasthan and another five from Bhopal and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh will have the facility.

The commission had purchased 1.5 lakh such machines from the Bharat Electronics Limited and the Electronic Corporation of India Limited in 1990 at a cost of Rs 75 crore.