Murli Manohar Joshi on CEC row: elections must be fair, Supreme Court should step in if the Constitution is violated
The BJP veteran said democracy survives only with fair elections and accountable governments, and called the Opposition 'responsive and responsible'.
Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has weighed in on the row over Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He said democracy survives only when elections are fair, and that the Supreme Court should step in if the Constitution is violated. Joshi’s name was among India’s top searches over the past day.
What Joshi said
According to the Free Press Journal, Joshi said he was “neither in the Opposition nor in the government”. He said that “if the Constitution is violated then the Supreme Court should look into it”. Quoting Abraham Lincoln, he said democracy survives only if “the elections are fair, the governments are accountable and the bureaucracy is transparent”.
He also described the Opposition as “responsive and responsible”, with “a clear cut alternative programme”. The Free Press Journal read the remark as a subtle warning to the government.
According to the Deccan Herald, Joshi also criticised the use of force against students who protested in Delhi over the exam system. He called it “painful” that students had to travel to the capital to voice their “anxieties and concerns”.
The background
The row centres on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which Opposition parties say has wrongly removed large numbers of eligible voters. The Free Press Journal reports that two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, have formally recorded objections, saying orders were issued without consulting them. It also reports that the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Commission and the Centre on petitions alleging bias.
Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have led protests in several cities. Protesters want Kumar to resign, the SIR frozen and voter lists restored. The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party plans a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday, 10 October, even though Delhi Police have refused permission.
Why Joshi’s words matter
Joshi, 92, is one of the BJP’s founding members. He was party president from 1991 to 1993 and Union minister for human resource development in the Vajpayee-led NDA government. The reports we reviewed did not carry a response from the government or the Election Commission.
Sources: Free Press Journal, Deccan Herald, NewsDrum, Wikipedia.
Related
Navjot Sidhu comeback talk grows as Pargat Singh takes charge of Punjab Congress on Sunday
All 10 UP Rajya Sabha candidates elected unopposed as BJP wins 8 and SP 2; Dinesh Arya wins Uttarakhand seat
