A letter sent to the cabinet secretary by the two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, was regarding the functioning of a senior deputy election commissioner (DEC), a person privy to the developments told HT on Sunday, a day after the poll panel clarified that the communication had nothing to do with its policy matters.
Officials generally take up such matters involving the functioning of personnel with the chief election commissioner (CEC). Had the letter been against CEC Gyanesh Kumar himself, protocol would have dictated that it be marked to the President.
After the report that Sandhu and Joshi had objected to certain key decisions of the Election Commission of India (ECI), including those related to the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, opposition parties have called for Kumar’s resignation and the Supreme Court’s intervention, while also questioning the integrity of the election process. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) distanced itself from the controversy. There have been allegations over the centralisation of ECINet and restrictions on access, as well as claims that the two election commissioners had raised concerns over the issue.
The poll body has rejected charges of one-sided decision-making, saying differences are part of the deliberation process but all ECI decisions are “unanimous”.
