Union minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday attacked the Congress amid the party's continued protests seeking Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged SIR irregularities. Goyal flagged the party's own ties with people who earlier held the CEC post.
"Congress raises questions about the Election Commission while ignoring its own track record. If you look at Rahul Gandhi's (Congress') track record: they gave a party ticket to one Election Commissioner, made another a Minister, and appointed two as Governors,” Goyal said in a press conference on Tuesday.
During the presser, Goyal named four ex-CECs, including TN Seshan, MS Gill, RK Trivedi and Naveen Chawla, and listed how these officials were “rewarded” during the Congress regime.
“They fielded TN Seshan against LK Advani,” Goyal said. Seshan served as the 10th CEC of India from 1990 to 1996 and was fielded by Congress from Gandhinagar constituency in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, which he lost.
The union minister then went on to name MS Gill, who served as CEC of India from 1996 to 2001.
"Interestingly, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan. In 2000, while he was still the sitting Chief Election Commissioner, he was conferred India's second-highest civilian honour. Was this not an inducement? Was it not, in effect, a form of bribery?" Goyal said, as quoted in a report by news agency PTI.
Goyal also said that Gill joined Congress three years after his retirement, and was made a Union Minister in 2008. “What more evidence do you need to show how low the Congress brought the office of the Election Commission and how it misused officials?,” Goyal said.
‘Cong appointed ex-CEC as Governor’
Further mounting his attack on Congress and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, union minister Piyush Goyal questioned the appointment of RK Trivedi as a state governor just two months after his tenure as CEC ended.
RK Trivedi served as CEC from 1982 and he was appointed as Governor of Gujarat from 1986. “His CEC tenure ended on December 31, 1985 and he was appointed as the governor of Gujarat within two months,” Goyal said.
‘One CEC appointed despite recommendation of removal’
Piyush Goyal also said that one official made CEC despite the recommendation of his removal. "Naveen Chawla was made CEC by Sonia Gandhi, even when she was not in the government,” Goyal said, as stated in an ANI report.
“Gopalaswami recommended that Naveen Chawla be removed, but instead, Naveen Chawla was made the CEC. Ratna U Kelkar was the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala. Immediately after the elections, the Chief Minister appointed him as his Chief Advisor,” Goyal said.
Naveen Chawla was appointed election commissioner in May 2005 and was elevated as chief election commissioner (CEC) in April 2009.
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Piyush Goyal's latest attack on Rahul Gandhi and Congress comes amid continous protests seeking Gyanesh Kumar's removal as CEC.
Kumar has been at the centre of the storm ever since an Indian Express report published last month indicated that two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, objected to the unilateral decision-making by CEC on 14 occasions in 10 months.
The ECI denied any internal disquiet and said that all decisions were taken unanimously despite difference of opinions.
Also Read: 'Differing views part of decision-making': Election Commission pushes back against criticism
However, Delhi has seen massive protests against the CEC over the past few weeks, during which police detained several protesters. Rahul Gandhi, along with other 10 INDIA bloc leaders, filed a petition before the Supreme Court against Gyanesh Kumar on Monday.