Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla today brushed aside the criticism of the EC by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and reminded her that she had herself appreciated the conduct of the 2007 Assembly polls.
"Ms Mayawati herself had come to the Election Commission on a Sunday in 2007 and spent one hour (with us) and congratulated the EC for conducting a free, fair and transparent election (in the state)," Chawla said after taking over as the new CEC.
"The UP elections was a watershed election as you know. I don't want to say further," he told reporters.
He was responding to Mayawati's allegation that the Commission was working on the directions of Congress.
Mayawati alleged that Chawla and Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi were "active members of the Congress coterie and under such circumstances, free and fair elections are not possible in the country".
"I would like to say that the EC officials are acting on the directives of the Congress and its allies. The EC under political pressure is trying to stop BSP from gaining power despite the party having peoples' support in its favour," Mayawati said in Lucknow