Thought of deferring polls however determined towards it: Dissenting EC Rajiv Kumar

THE Election Commission (EC) had thought-about deferring a number of phases of the not too long ago held Assembly polls given the rising variety of Covid circumstances however determined towards it for the reason that imposition of President’s Rule may have confirmed to be “damaging” for the ballot physique. The dissenting election commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, is alleged to have written this in his affidavit that was rejected by the Commission, and never filed with the Madras High Court.
Kumar wrote that such a transfer would have brought on “massive hue and cry and popular discontentment” and uncovered the Commission to the accusation of favouring one occasion over one other.
The EC, he mentioned, had additionally appeared into the choice of merging the remaining three phases of West Bengal elections however that wasn’t legally possible since Section 30 of the RP Act, 1951, states that every election part is distinct and needs to be notified individually.

He added that whereas it was legally doable to merge the final two phases (part 7 and eight) since their dates of notification have been similar (March 31), the EC ensured no campaigning came about between April 26 and April 29 by rising the ‘silence period’ from 48 to 72 hours earlier than polling.
The Indian Express had first reported on Friday that one of many two election commissioners had offerred to resign as “punishment” if the Madras High Court (HC) so desired in a separate affidavit.
In his affidavit, Kumar is alleged to have acknowledged that the courtroom’s oral observations — on the Election Commission’s position in conducting elections in the course of the second Covid wave — had demoralised the EC’s rank and file.

Urging the courtroom to not punish the establishment however the person, he’s mentioned to have requested the courtroom to withdraw its oral observations or maintain him personally accountable. For the latter, he supplied to take private accountability and resign.
“It is submitted that democracy is at peril due to loss of faith in ECI across the length and breadth of the country. I, as Election commissioner cannot escape individual responsibility and leave it to the judgment of Hon’ble court to punish in the manner, the Hon’ble court is pleased to so decide. The Institution, however, needs to be absolved of the doubts cast on it to save the democracy, lest everyone else start making insinuations, allegations in much more magnified, exponentially derogatory terms,” mentioned Kumar’s draft affidavit.
But this affidavit was rejected by the Election Commission and by no means filed with the HC nor hooked up with its Special Leave Petition within the Supreme Court towards the Madras High Court’s “murder-charges” comment.

Kumar’s affidavit lists out over 30 factors of motion taken by the EC to argue that the Commission was forward of the COVID curve. He additionally added that the EC was by no means warned of a COVID19 “tsunami” which had “overwhelmed all organs of polity and society”.