You have no power, BJP tells poll panel
Following the combined onslaught from `secular’ parties on the CD controversy, the BJP on Monday went on the counter-offensive, telling the EC that it did not have powers to de-recognise a party or freeze its election symbol.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Following the combined onslaught from `secular’ parties on the CD controversy, the BJP on Monday went on the counter-offensive, telling the EC that it did not have powers to de-recognise a party or freeze its election symbol.
Faced with a fresh bunch of disqualification petitions, this time from the Congress and the CPM, the BJP, which sent a four-member team led by its general secretary Arun Jaitley to present its case before the poll panel, sought more time to file its reply. The EC agreed and posted the matter till April 11. The BSP and the Jan Morcha have already demanded the party’s de-recognition for its alleged involvement in the case.
The BJP also submitted a memorandum which demanded that election commissioner Navin Chawla should not be part of the decision-making process on the CD issue as he was an ‘interested party.’ The BJP had demanded Mr Chawla’s removal on the grounds that he was ‘partisan towards the Congress’ as a trust that his wife runs had received funds from Congress MPs in the past.
Besides taking its battle to the EC, the BJP simultaneously launched a political attack with its president Rajnath Singh daring the state police to arrest him on the FIR lodged against him at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow in the case pertaining to the controversial CD. The police, however, refused make an arrest, arguing that it hadn’t been able to gather any evidence against him. The party also decried the attempts being made by the `secular’ outfits to draw political mileage from the case ``in an attempt to endear themselves to the Muslim voters.’’
``There is now a scramble among the secular parties to seek the BJP’s de-recognition so as to win the confidence of the Muslims. This is nothing but appeasement politics of the worst kind,’’ asserted a BJP spokesman, adding, ``We’re ready to face any political opposition on the ground.’’ Besides reiterating its position on the CD, the saffron outfit, in its reply to the petitions filed by the BSP and the Jan Morcha, cited precedents in support of its argument questioning the poll panel’s locus standi on de-recognising or de-registering a party or freezing its symbol.
``The Election Commission, in the Arjun Singh Vs BJP case, has already held on February 19, 1992, there is no such power with it to cancel or withdraw the registration of a political party. This opinion has already been confirmed by the Supreme Court,’’ the party, in its reply filed through Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said. ``Additionally, the Supreme Court, in the case of INC Vs Institute of Social Welfare and others, has already ruled that it has no power to cancel the registration of a political party once it is granted to it. The Commission has specifically held that the power to grant a registration is a quasi-judicial power and the provision of section 21 of the General Clauses Act do not apply to the quasi-judicial forums,’’ the BJP argued.
Faced with a fresh bunch of disqualification petitions, this time from the Congress and the CPM, the BJP, which sent a four-member team led by its general secretary Arun Jaitley to present its case before the poll panel, sought more time to file its reply. The EC agreed and posted the matter till April 11. The BSP and the Jan Morcha have already demanded the party’s de-recognition for its alleged involvement in the case.
The BJP also submitted a memorandum which demanded that election commissioner Navin Chawla should not be part of the decision-making process on the CD issue as he was an ‘interested party.’ The BJP had demanded Mr Chawla’s removal on the grounds that he was ‘partisan towards the Congress’ as a trust that his wife runs had received funds from Congress MPs in the past.
Besides taking its battle to the EC, the BJP simultaneously launched a political attack with its president Rajnath Singh daring the state police to arrest him on the FIR lodged against him at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow in the case pertaining to the controversial CD. The police, however, refused make an arrest, arguing that it hadn’t been able to gather any evidence against him. The party also decried the attempts being made by the `secular’ outfits to draw political mileage from the case ``in an attempt to endear themselves to the Muslim voters.’’
``There is now a scramble among the secular parties to seek the BJP’s de-recognition so as to win the confidence of the Muslims. This is nothing but appeasement politics of the worst kind,’’ asserted a BJP spokesman, adding, ``We’re ready to face any political opposition on the ground.’’ Besides reiterating its position on the CD, the saffron outfit, in its reply to the petitions filed by the BSP and the Jan Morcha, cited precedents in support of its argument questioning the poll panel’s locus standi on de-recognising or de-registering a party or freezing its symbol.
``The Election Commission, in the Arjun Singh Vs BJP case, has already held on February 19, 1992, there is no such power with it to cancel or withdraw the registration of a political party. This opinion has already been confirmed by the Supreme Court,’’ the party, in its reply filed through Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said. ``Additionally, the Supreme Court, in the case of INC Vs Institute of Social Welfare and others, has already ruled that it has no power to cancel the registration of a political party once it is granted to it. The Commission has specifically held that the power to grant a registration is a quasi-judicial power and the provision of section 21 of the General Clauses Act do not apply to the quasi-judicial forums,’’ the BJP argued.
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The only exception to this provision, it maintained, is when it is found that a political party has obtained the registration by fraud or forgery and when the party amends its nomenclature and its objects, and intimates that they’ve ceased to have faith in the Constitution of India, or secularism or democracy.
The party also felt that taking such an extreme action against a political outfit would be tantamount to undermining the party system, which was so essential to parliamentary democracy. ``It’d be extremely dangerous for our democratic set-up if the Commission were to assume the law to decide as to which party is to be allowed to contest and which is to barred from taking part in the poll process,’’ the BJP countered. ``If, during the course of an election, an uncertainty is created with regard to the right of a political party to contest elections effectively or otherwise, the EC becomes an impediment in the course of conduct of free and fair elections,’’ the party added.
The BJP also questioned the panel’s right to freeze a party’s symbol. ``The deprivation of an election symbol mid-way during an election amounts to shifting the goal-post and directly impinges upon the conduct of free and fair polls. The party believes that the power under Clause 16A of the Election Symbol (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 is inconsistent with the provisions of section 29A of the Constitution and is in direct conflict with the party system,’’ it argued.
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