The Congress on Saturday expressed “deep concern” over Election Commissioner Arun Goel’s resignation, alleging that there’s completely “no transparency” in how a constitutional establishment just like the Election Commission has been functioning and the style during which the federal government “pressures” it.
Goel resigned on Saturday, days earlier than the anticipated announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. His tenure was until December 5, 2027, and he would have turn into Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February subsequent yr.
There is totally “no transparency” in how a constitutional establishment just like the ECI has been functioning and the style during which the federal government pressures it, he stated.
During the 2019 elections, Ashok Lavasa had dissented in opposition to a clear chit to the PM for violating the Model Code of Conduct, he stated.
“Later, he faced relentless inquiries. This attitude shows the regime is hellbent on destroying democratic traditions. This must be explained, and the ECI must be completely non-partisan at all times,” Venugopal stated.
According to a legislation ministry notification, Goel’s resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with impact from Saturday. It was not instantly identified why he stepped down.
Goel, a retired bureaucrat, was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He had joined the Election Commission in November 2022.
Following the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and Goel’s resignation, the three-member EC has now just one member: CEC Rajiv Kumar.
(Only the headline and film of this report might have been reworked by the Business Standard employees; the remainder of the content material is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Mar 09 2024 | 11:32 PM IST
