M A I N   N E W S

CEC debunks charges
But Saptharishi stands by his letter
R. Suryamurthy
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 8
The Chhapra poll countermanding issue turned murky today with the Election Commission terming the allegation as “scurrilous and baseless”, saying that it was below its dignity to respond to an allegation by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad that it had forced the countermanding of the parliamentary election in Bihar’s Chhapra constituency while senior bureaucrat L.V. Saptharishi, who was a special election observer, alleged the two Election Commissioners, Mr B.B. Tandon and Mr N. Gopalaswamy, had acted with a “casteist bias”.

“The commission considers it beneath its dignity to respond to the scurrilous and baseless allegations made therein, singling out the two Election Commissioners”, the poll panel said after a two-hour-long emergency meeting.

The commission met in the wake of allegations of senior IAS official L.V. Saptharishi, who was a special observer for the elections in Bihar, that attempts were made by Election Commissioners B.B. Tandon and N. Gopalaswamy to countermand the poll in Chhapra contested by RJD chief and now Railway Minister Lalu Prasad.

“I feel very bad that such unfortunate allegations are being made. The Election Commission is a remarkably independent, credible organisation. Just because one person takes a view doesn’t mean that the EC is wrong”, the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr Krishna Murthy, said on his return to the Capital from Chennai.

“All decisions have been taken unanimously and on the basis of factual information and analysis. This tendency to denigrate the EC is strongly condemned by me”, he added.

“The free, fair and impartial manner in which the elections are being conducted in the country, including Bihar, has been seen and widely applauded by the whole country”, the EC said.

“The commission strongly deprecates personal attacks made on the two Election Commissioners and adviser K. J. Rao and considers such attacks highly reprehensible”, the commission said.

However, Mr Saptharishi today continued his attack on the EC by alleging that they (Mr Tandon and Mr Gopalaswamy) made casteist remarks and challenged them to swear in a court of law that they did not make such comments.

“I still stand by my letter which was written to the Union Law Minister and I am even ready to swear in court”, he told reporters.

“Let the two Election Commissioners also swear if they are not guilty of being casteist in their approach in Bihar during the 2004 General Election by making ugly remarks about the Yadavs”, he said.

However, Mr Krishna Murthy, defending the two Election Commissioners, told reporters, “I know what remarks they have been making. Why should such a statement be made? I have not heard any such casteist remarks”.

Mr Saptharishi claimed, “Their continuation will definitely pose a question over the EC’s objectivity”.

He said, “The two had the authority to order a repoll or countermand the poll in Chhapra but had no authority to talk on caste lines... my letter is only about the caste angle taken by the two”.

He claimed he had more proof, which he would bring out once Mr Tandon took over as the new Chief Election Commissioner on May 16.

In his letter to the Law Minister, Mr Saptharishi had claimed that last year’s election in Chhapra where RJD chief Lalu Yadav and Rajiv Pratap Rudy were contestants was countermanded under pressure from BJP chief L.K. Advani and the two Election Commissioners, Mr N. Gopalaswamy and Mr B. B. Tandon.

“Mr Krishnamurthy has the entire record. He was unhappy and asked me what he should do. But he has to be a part of the group. It’s their duty to hold fair elections but they are not (doing that) and that is why these two officers should go”, said Mr Saptharishi.

When asked why the issue was being raised a year after the general election, Mr Saptharishi, who would retire from service in two months, said, “I had a specified role and responsibility as an election observer at that point of time. As an observer, I had to keep quiet and state whatever that I had to on the conduct or elections and remain in anonymity”.

Interestingly, last year, the CEC had praised and appreciated Mr Saptharishi for his invaluable service and objectivity while carrying out his duties as an election observer in Bihar.

He also said the inputs provided by Mr Saptharishi helped the EC take important and quick decisions.

On Saturday, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav had demanded the immediate resignation of Mr Tandon and Mr Gopalaswamy in the wake of the allegations. “In view of the serious nature of accusations, the two must resign and the EC reconstituted so that the prestigious of the august organisation is not lowered”, he said, adding that these two Commissioners had conspired to prevent him from entering Parliament and his party would raise the issue in Parliament.

The BJP, which has questioned the credibility of Mr Saptharishi, said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had become a threat to the constitutional structure of the country.

“If the Prime Minister has any faith in this (Constitution), Lalu Prasad should be immediately dismissed,” party leader Arun Jaitley said.

Reports said Mr Jaitley, during his term as Law Minister, had written a letter describing Mr Saptharishi as an outstanding officer. “He (Saptharishi) has bright ideas and pursues them unflinchingly to achieve the desired results”, the report quoted Mr Jaitley from the letter.

Earlier, Mr Saptharishi had to make a hasty retreat from his media briefing at the India International Centre apparently due to lack of clearance.

When asked how he could take a high moral ground against the Election Commissioners when he himself was using the IIC unauthorisedly, he said, “No, no, it was booked”, boarded his car and sped away.

IIC general secretary Lalit K. Joshi told the senior IAS officer, “You are using this place unauthorisedly. You have no authority to use it”.

Mr Joshi told reporters, “This place is not meant for political akhada. This is a cultural and intellectual centre.”

Karat defends Saptharishi

Patna, May 8
CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat today defended senior IAS officer L.V. Saptharishi, who had made accusations against Election Commissioners B.B. Tandon and M. Gopalswami of countermanding the 2004 elections in Chapra allegedly at the instance of former Home Minister L.K. Advani and other BJP leaders. RJD chief Lalu Prasad and former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy had contested the Chapra elections.

Mr Karat told mediapersons here that Mr Saptarishi, in a letter to Union Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj, had made disclosures about scrapping of the Chapra election at the instance of Mr Advani, disregarding his (Saptharishi’s) feeling that there was no need for it.

He said freedom and integrity of the Election Commission (EC) should be maintained at all costs, suggesting the EC take some corrective measures in this regard. — UNI