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INDIA bloc MPs, led by Rahul Gandhi, protest near the Election Commission office in New Delhi (Img: Dynamite News )
New Delhi: The standoff between the Election Commission of India and the Opposition INDIA bloc over a proposed meeting with MPs has brought the poll body's meeting protocol into focus.
The Election Commission declined to meet a delegation of Opposition MPs at the Parliament House Annexe on Tuesday, saying such meetings are conducted at the Commission's premises and are arranged through an authorised representative of the political party or parties concerned.
More than 300 Opposition MPs had marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters amid their objections over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and other concerns related to the election process.
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According to the ECI, it was informed by Delhi Police at around 4 pm that a delegation led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi wanted to meet the Commission and submit a memorandum.
The poll panel said that, until 4 pm, no political party had formally sought an appointment through its authorised representative.
The ECI said it had laid down a procedure for meetings with political parties and that parties had been informed about the process.
Under the procedure, a delegation from a political party or a joint delegation of several parties is expected to seek an appointment through its duly authorised representative. The meeting is then scheduled at a mutually agreed date and time.
The Commission said it considers its own established protocols and conventions important while also respecting parliamentary and democratic processes.
The ECI said the proposed meeting involved around 240 MPs and was to take place at the Parliament House Annexe.
According to the Commission, this was unusual because its protocol provides for such meetings to be held on ECI premises. The poll panel therefore declined the proposed arrangement.
As an alternative, the ECI offered to send its senior-most officer on duty to the Parliament venue to receive the memorandum. The Opposition MPs did not accept the proposal.
The key distinction is between a legal obligation and an established practice.
The ECI's position is that political parties can request meetings with the Commission, after which the poll panel schedules them according to its procedure. There is no requirement that the Commission must meet a large group of MPs at a venue chosen by them.
The controversy therefore centres less on whether Opposition MPs can approach the Commission and more on the procedure, venue and manner in which the proposed meeting was sought.
The dispute comes amid heightened Opposition criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
The INDIA bloc has announced a wider programme of protests and political action over its concerns about electoral rolls and the election process.
The latest disagreement has therefore added another layer to the ongoing political confrontation between the Opposition and the Election Commission, with both sides presenting different accounts of how the proposed meeting unfolded.
