Cracks wide open in poll body as Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa skips meeting
New Delhi, May 18 (UNI): Amid widespread criticism from opposition parties that the Election Commission is working at the behest of ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa reportedly skipped meetings on deciding violation of Model Code of Conduct, citing his 'minority decisions going unrecorded', sources said.
The Election Commission is a three-member full commission, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and two Election Commissioners, Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.
Earlier, Lavasa has expressed his dissent over decisions to clear Modi and BJP president Amit Shah from charges of alleged MCC violation, in five different matters.
According to sources, in a letter to CEC on May 4, Lavasa said: "I am being forced to stay away from the meetings of the full commission since minority decisions are not being recorded".
"I might consider taking recourse to other measures aimed at restoring the lawful functioning of the Commission in terms of recording minority decisions. My various notes on the need for transparency in the recording and disclosure of all decisions, including the minority view, have gone unheeded, forcing me to withdraw from participating in the deliberations on the complaints", he added in the letter.
It is learned that Mr Arora had met Mr Lavasa after the former received the letter.
Sources also said that the Commission is considering the decisions on MCC violations as not being 'quasi-judicial' proceedings and hence feels it need not be recorded.
Election Commission has not responded to the fresh reports that Lavasa is not attending the meetings.
Image Credit: UNI
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