Govt rejects CEC's recommendation on removal of Navin Chawla

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) The Indian Government Sunday
rejected Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami's
recommendation for removal of Navin Chawla as Election
Commissioner, paving the way for his appointment to the key
constitutional post.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique said President
Pratibha Patil has accepted the government recommendation for
rejection of the CEC's report against Chawla and arrived at a
"considered opinion".

The development comes days ahead of the announcement
of schedule for the general elections and some Assembly polls.

The three-member Commission is widely expected to
announce the poll dates in a day or two.

The communique said "the government has recommended
that the CEC's report and the recommendation to remove Navin
Chawla from the post of Election Commissioner may be rejected.

"The President, after careful consideration of the
report of the CEC, the government's recommendation,
constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court judgement,
arrived at a considered opinion and has accepted the
recommendation of the government," Rashtrapati Bhawan
spokesperson Archana Dutta said.

Amid reports of differences between him and Chawla,
Gopalaswami, who is to demit office on April 20, had in late
January recommended the removal of the EC on a petition by the
BJP which had accused him of "partisan" functioning.

The BJP had alleged that Chawla was close to the
Congress.

The CEC's recommendation sparked a furore with BJP
demanding Chawla's resignation but the Congress came out in
defence of the EC saying he need not step down.

Adopting a combative approach in the face of the CEC
recommendation, Chawla, the senior-most EC who was considered
as the natural choice for the top post when Gopalaswami demits
office in April, had dug in and said he was looking forward to
conducting the general elections.

Within days Law Minister H R Bhardwaj too ticked off
the Chief Election Commissioner for seeking removal of his
colleague saying he is not the "political boss" and hinted at
Chawla becoming the next CEC in April.

Bhardwaj said the government had a policy to have the
senior most Election Commissioner as the CEC and "our policy
continues to be the same."

Describing the controversy as "unfortunate", Bhardwaj
had said it should not effect Chawla's career as appointments
in the Election Commission are based on merit.

"We will begin the process to put in place a new CEC
well in time" so that the name of Gopalaswami's successor is
clear before he retires, Bhardwaj said.

The controversy had only brought to fore the
differences among the three-member body which has often been
marred by clashes over crucial decisions.

Only last year, Chawla had raised serious objections
to the holding of the Karnataka assembly elections in May but
was over ruled.

The Commission works on the principle of consensus and
in case of differences, it goes by majority opinion.

In 2006, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K
Advani and 204 MPs had submitted a petition to then President
A P J Abdul Kalam seeking the removal of Chawla as Election
Commissioner. The main opposition party also took the matter
to the Supreme Court.

Gopalaswami in his affidavit to the apex court had
claimed that the CEC had suo motu power to recommend the
removal of an Election Commissioner following which the BJP
withdrew its petition in the apex court and again took up the
issue with the CEC.

Government had maintained in the Supreme Court that
the CEC had no suo motu power power to remove an Election
Commissioner. PTI TEAM
PMR
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