New Delhi, January 30
The Bharatiya Janata Party today renewed its efforts for the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla on grounds that he lacks fairness and non-partisan approach because of his close proximity to the Congress and its leadership as it submitted a memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner seeking his removal.
A five-member delegation headed by BJP general secretary Arun Jaitely met Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami and formally submitted a memorandum signed by 180 NDA MPs demanding Chawla’s removal by the CEC exercising powers under the Constitution.
The BJP believes that on account of the background of having a close proximity with the Congress and its leadership, Chawla lacks fairness and non-partisan approach in dealing with political parties.
The fact of his lack of fairness is best known only to the CEC and, therefore, his recommendation is only condition precedent for any action. This recommendation may be suo motu by the CEC or it may be on the basis of information available with the President or on basis of a complaint or petition filed by a third party, the petition said.
The BJP moving the Election Commission comes after its earlier attempts for Chawla’s removal failed. First it approached the then president A.P.J Abdul Kalam with a similar petition, which the government declined to forward to the CEC.
The party then followed it up by filing a petition in the Supreme Court where the government took the stand that the government was bound to forward it to the commission, while the CEC maintained that if such a petition came before him he has powers to consider it. The court then left it to the BJP to approach the CEC.
Jaitely told reporters after their meeting with the CEC that they have submitted the petition as per the directions of the Supreme Court. Citing provisions under Article 324 (5) of the Constitution, the petition maintained that an Election Commissioner could be removed by the President on the recommendation of the CEC.
In the matter of removal of the EC, the provision gives primacy to the CEC and his views. The condition precedent for removal of an election commissioner is only one i.e., a recommendation to that effect by the CEC, the petition contended.
To substantiate its demand, the petition questioned the conduct of Chawla as a bureaucrat before becoming the EC.
It alleged that he was part of the emergency tyranny in Delhi during the mid-1970s and his career-graph progressed only when the Congress was in power at the centre or in Delhi and nosedived if a non-Congress government was in power.
