Union minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday attacked the Congress amid the party’s continued protests seeking Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged SIR irregularities.
Goyal flagged the party’s own ties with people who earlier held the CEC post.
“Congress raises questions about the Election Commission while ignoring its own track record. “Gopalaswami recommended that Naveen Chawla be removed, but instead, Naveen Chawla was made the CEC. Ratna U Kelkar was the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala.
Seshan served as the 10th CEC of India from 1990 to 1996 and was fielded by Congress from Gandhinagar constituency in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, which he lost. Goyal also said that Gill joined Congress three years after his retirement, and was made a Union Minister in 2008.
“They fielded TN Seshan against LK Advani,” Goyal said. “What more evidence do you need to show how low the Congress brought the office of the Election Commission and how it misused officials?,” Goyal said. Piyush Goyal also said that one official made CEC despite the recommendation of his removal. “Naveen Chawla was made CEC by Sonia Gandhi, even when she was not in the government,” Goyal said, as stated in an ANI report. Immediately after the elections, the Chief Minister appointed him as his Chief Advisor,” Goyal said.
If you look at Rahul Gandhi’s (Congress’) track record: they gave a party ticket to one Election Commissioner, made another a Minister, and appointed two as Governors,” Goyal said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Further mounting his attack on Congress and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, union minister Piyush Goyal questioned the appointment of RK Trivedi as a state governor just two months after his tenure as CEC ended. RK Trivedi served as CEC from 1982 and he was appointed as Governor of Gujarat from 1986.
“His CEC tenure ended on December 31, 1985 and he was appointed as the governor of Gujarat within two months,” Goyal said.
