EC: Not obliged to consult ministry
NEWDELHI:The Election Commission on Monday said that it has no obligation to consult the Union home ministry before holding elections, responding to an accusation of ignoring an advice to postpone bypolls in Jammu and Kashmir this April.
The war of words broke out after violence engulfed Sunday’s by-elections to the Srinagar parliamentary constituency.
Srinagar recorded 7.14% polling, the lowest in three decades, and eight people were killed and scores were wounded in clashes with security forces. Mobs threw stones and petrol bombs as they tried to impose a separatist call to boycott the bypolls in the state.
Home ministry sources said the poll panel ignored its advice to postpone by-elections in Srinagar and Anantnag, where voting was slated for April 12. The voting was deferred to May 25 after the violence in Srinagar.
EC officials were quick to respond, saying they were not bound to consult the ministry. The ministry’s brief is limited to providing central forces, they said. “It was a constitutional obligation to hold the Srinagar bypoll, which was due before April 16. The state government was consulted as it is responsible for law and order and security issues,” an EC source said. “The state government said the preparation for free, fair and peaceful elections are being made and a comprehensive deployment plan was also worked out by Jammu and Kashmir police. They also upgraded the security of political leaders and candidates.”
But ministry officials countered the atmosphere in the Valley was not conducive for bypolls. The ministry would have preferred the bypolls after the panchayat elections. After the EC announced the bypolls in March, the ministry warned that Pakistan-sponsored elements may disrupt the process. The poll panel officials countered the commission assesses the prevailing situation for holding elections.
“In the assessment of the EC, if prevailing conditions were conducive for holding of panchayat elections, then holding of parliamentary elections is also possible,” one of the officials said.