Chandigarh, April 8
The show-down between the Election Commission of India and the Haryana Government was averted today when the Director-General of Police (DGP), Dr M.S. Malik, proceeded on leave till May 10, when the polling in the state would be over.
Even as the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, sanctioned Dr Malik’s leave with immediate effect, he continued to blow hot on the commission.
The commission had directed the state government to transfer Dr Malik to a post not connected with the election work because his wife, Krishna, is the ruling INLD candidate from the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat.
Mr Chautala had, however, yesterday declined to honour the direction. The Chief Election Commissioner, Mr T.S. Krishnamurthi, on the other hand told the media that the commission knew what it had to do to get its orders respected.
Sources close to Dr Malik maintained that he had proceeded on leave because he “wants to put an end to any unwarranted and malicious controversy generated by vested interests through the media”. They also said that Dr Malik had denied the allegations levelled against him by the BJP in a communication sent to the state government.
Coming down heavily on the commission, Mr Chautala told newsmen that Mr Krishnamurthi “is not maintaining the dignity of the high office he is holding and is behaving like an SHO”. Accusing the commission of being biased against the state government, Mr Chautala said because of its wrong decisions, the functioning of the state government had been virtually paralysed.
He said the commission had barred the state government from calling tenders for new development works. Due to these orders the government was unable to award contract for lifting wheat from the mandis. He said while the commission did not object when the Centre notified the merger of 50 per cent DA in the basic pay of their employees, it did not allow the Haryana Government to do so.
Alleging that Mr Krishnamurthi was working at the behest of the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, Mr Chautala said its order regarding the transfer of Mr Malik was “mala fide”. He said normally an IAS officer used to be appointed the Chief Election Commissioner. He alleged that Mr Krishnamurthi, who belonged to the Indian Revenue Service, was appointed the Chief Election Commissioner so that he would work as per the wishes of the Centre.
Mr Chautala said the wife of a
of the Judge. He said by proceeding on leave, Dr Malik had upheld the dignity of his office.Denying the BJP allegation that the government had released about 300 prisoners on parole recently, he said about 250 prisoners had been released on parole under court orders. He said the commission had even disallowed him to use the state plane to visit Dubai and Muscat last month, though he was not going on an election tour.
Interestingly, during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the then Election Commissioner, Mr J.M. Lyngdoh, had banned the entry of Mr Chautala in the Bhiwani constituency from where his elder son, Ajay, was contesting. Mr Lyngdoh was an IAS officer.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the BJP’s complaint on which the Election Commission ordered Dr Malik’s transfer has relied, among other things, on two news reports published in The Tribune.
