All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday said that the resignation of Election Commissioner (EC) Arun Goel, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, was shocking. He reiterated his opposition, in the interest of free and fair elections, to the composition of the election commissioners’ selection committee.
Mr. Owaisi, who represents Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha, said, “This is shocking that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is slated to release the election schedule soon and the EC, Mr. Goel, submits his resignation. I do not know the reasons for this. The Majlis (AIMIM) at the very outset of the bill being brought into the Parliament had said that the CEC and EC appointment procedure goes against the Supreme Court judgement. One would be the Prime Minister, the other committee member would be a Minister of the Government and the third would be the Leader of the Opposition. It is clear that the government would appoint its favoured person as ECI and EC.”
The AIMIM chief underscored the significance of free and fair elections in the country. He termed the Centre’s stand as “arrogant” and said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was under the impression that they have 300 MPs and think they could go against the Supreme Court judgment. “This law is wrong. As far as the resignation of the EC goes, it would be good if he or the government give reasons,” he said.
