 "Uddhav, Sharad Pawar factions slam govt over Arun Goel's resignation")
A day after Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed the Election Commission of India is no longer an autonomous watchdog, but works as an extended branch of the ruling BJP.
The opposition NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar said Goel's sudden resignation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls appeared suspicious.
Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned on Saturday, days before the expected announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
His tenure was till December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar's retirement in February next year.
"Whether the ECI exists or not, it has no meaning especially after how it has given orders under BJP's pressure in the cases of Shiv Sena and NCP splits, completely in violation of the 10th schedule," Raut claimed while talking to reporters.
"The ECI is not the autonomous watchdog it used to be in the time of TN Seshan, but works as an extended branch of the BJP," the Rajya Sabha member from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) further claimed.
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He was responding to a question on Goel's resignation as the election commissioner.
Goel's resignation came within a month of Anup Pandey's retirement as the election commissioner, leaving CEC Rajiv Kumar alone in the three-member election panel.
Raut claimed BJP workers will be appointed in the ECI.
NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the sudden resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, appears suspicious.
"Did he resign because he had a doubt that elections would not be conducted in a free and fair manner? Did he voice it, therefore asked to leave? Government must answer," he said in a statement.
Did Arun Goel resign as EC due to differences with CEC or Modi govt: Congress
A day after Arun Goel resigned as election commissioner, the Congress on Sunday asked whether he did so due to any differences with the chief election commissioner or the Narendra Modi government.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked whether Goel resigned over personal reasons as cited by him in his resignation letter or to contest the Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket like former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
"The resignation of Arun Goel as Election Commissioner last evening raises three questions.
"Did he actually resign over differences with the Chief Election Commissioner or with the Modi Government, which does the front-seat driving for all supposedly independent institutions? Or did he resign for personal reasons? Or did he, like the Calcutta High Court Judge a few days back, resign to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket," Ramesh asked in a post on X.
The Congress leader said the Election Commission has for eight months now refused to meet with INDIA parties on the issue of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) that is so very essential to prevent "electronic voting manipulation".
"Each passing day in Modi's India deals an added blow to democracy and democratic institutions," he also said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, however, did not elaborate much when asked about Goel's resignation and said one has to wait to see what he does in the coming days.
"I was thinking that after the high court judge resigned and joined the BJP the next day and started abusing the TMC. It shows that the BJP has appointed people with such mindset. Now the election commissioner has resigned, let us wait for some time to see what he does," he said when asked about Goel's resignation.
Goel resigned on Saturday, days before the expected announcement of the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
His tenure was till December 5, 2027, and he would have become Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) after incumbent Rajiv Kumar retired in February next year.
According to a Law Ministry notification, Goel's resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with effect from Saturday. It was not immediately known why he stepped down.
Goel was a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre. He joined the Election Commission in November 2022.
Following the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and Goel's resignation, the three-member EC now has only one member -- CEC Rajiv Kumar.