Election commissioners complain but no action is taken

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has complained to the Union Cabinet Secretary that a key official of the Election Commission of India (ECI) is violating the rules, but no action has been taken. It would be like interfering with the Election Commission. The findings came in response to an RTI application filed by social activist Lokesh K Batra in August.

Deputy Election Commissioner Bhanu Prakash was on leave from July 27 to August 9 this year. Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Manish Garg has been given the responsibility. Manish Garg took charge within hours of taking charge. Several directions have been issued regarding division of work in the Election Commission. He said that several orders were issued without their permission and without any intimation. On July 29, two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh and Vivek Joshi, had complained to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan seeking action against him.

The letters were discussed in the Union Cabinet Secretariat on August 3 and 4. In the discussion held on 3rd, the Cabinet Secretariat officials decided to seek the opinion of the Chief Election Commissioner on the issue. However, in a note prepared on the 4th and sent to the Department of Personnel (DoPT), The election commissioners have been asked to take action against the deputy election commissioner. They are personal letters.

They need to be seriously examined. It cannot be considered a formal complaint from the full Election Commission. If the action is taken, it could be considered as interference in the functioning of the Election Commission," he said. Without taking any action against Manish Garg, the complaint and the Cabinet Secretariat note were sent to the CEC and the DoPT.