News Analysis India

Tag: Sushil Chandra

  • Participation of women in Parliament less than desired: Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra on Saturday lamented the lack of representation of women in Parliament but at the same time, pointed to the surge in the number of women coming out to vote in recent years.

    He also expressed concern over the time lost due to disruptions in Parliament, saying this does not augur well for democracy.

    Addressing an event here to give away Sansad Ratna awards, Chandra said the first Lok Sabha had 15 women MPs and the 17th Lok Sabha has 78. “But the progress is still slow…. True, Parliament has to be very very inclusive,” he said.

    The CEC pointed out that in local bodies, the Constitution guarantees a one-third reservation for women and noted that many grassroots-level women leaders have demonstrated their leadership qualities and brought about visible changes in their communities.

    Stressing the need to maintain a connect between the lawmakers and people, he recalled voters telling him that after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a ban on physical campaigning, some leaders came to their doorstep after a long gap.

    On the issue of disruptions in parliamentary proceedings, Chandra said while heated arguments, debates and speeches are a barometer of a robust Parliament, frequent disruptions, walkouts and hunger strikes are not.

    The time lost due to disruptions has seen a dramatic increase over the years, with some sessions witnessing a complete “wash out”. “This does not augur well for a robust parliamentary democracy,” he said.

    “Participation in Parliament, raising matters of critical importance by virtue of the Question Hour and the Zero Hour are established parliamentary practices….This precious opportunity should not be wasted by theatrics or slogan-shouting or rushing to the well of the House,” Chandra said.

    On the role of parliamentary standing committees, he said due to the untelevised nature of the committee meetings, the panels are also used as a forum for consensus-building among parties for controversial issues or contentious pieces of legislation.

    However, the CEC said the “dwindling attendance” in the committee meetings is a cause of concern and the MPs must take part in these deliberations in a spirited and non-partisan manner. On participation of women in elections, he shared the data of the recently-held Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur.

    In four of the five states — Goa, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh — the women voter turnout exceeded the male voter turnout and it was nearly equal in Punjab, he pointed out. The gender ratio has increased in all the five states.

    In Uttar Pradesh alone, it has gone up by 29 points, Chandra said. Seeking to give an overview of the Indian electoral system, he said there were 17.3 crore voters in the country and the turnout was around 45.6 per cent when the first Lok Sabha polls were conducted in 1951.

    During the 2019 parliamentary polls, the number of voters was around 91.2 crore and the voter turnout was the highest ever at 66.4 per cent. “As on today, there are more than 95.3 crore voters, of whom 49.04 crore are men and 46.09 crore are women,” Chandra said.

  • COVID-19: Election Commission to review ban on physical rallies, roadshows on Monday

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI:: The Election Commission of India will hold a review meeting on Monday regarding the continuation of the ban on physical rallies and roadshows in view of the upcoming assembly elections.

    Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra will meet Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan today. The ECI will also meet with Health Secretaries and Chief Secretaries of poll-bound states virtually. Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Election Commission of India on January 22 extended the ban on physical rallies and roadshows till January 31.

    The Election commission had put a ban on election rallies and roadshows until January 15 first and later extended till January 22. The poll body had on January 22 gave relaxation for physical public meetings of political parties or contesting candidates for Phase 1 allowed from January 28 and for Phase 2 from February 1.

    As on date, the limit of five persons for door to door campaign is 10 persons, excluding security personnel and video vans for publicity permitted at designated open spaces with COVID restrictions.

    Assembly elections in five states will be held between February 10 and March 7, the Election Commission of India informed earlier this month, as it announced the poll schedule for the states of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The counting of votes will be done on March 10.

  • PMO holds ‘informal interaction’ with ECs on electoral reforms; Congress attacks Modi government

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and fellow Commissioners Rajiv Kumar and Anoop Chandra Pandey recently held an “informal interaction” with the Prime Minister’s Office to bridge gaps in understanding of key electoral reforms between the poll panel and the Law Ministry, with EC sources insisting on Friday that no impropriety was involved in doing so.

    The commission had been pushing for reforms in electoral laws and related issues, and the virtual interaction in November was held to “bridge the gaps in understanding the points of views of the Law Ministry and the Election Commission (EC)”, they said.

    Reacting to the development, the Congress on Friday hit out at the government, alleging that it was treating the EC as its “subservient tool”.

    Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala charged that the government has fallen to a new low in destroying institutions in the country.

    “Cat is out of the bag! What was whispered till now is a fact. PMO summoning ECI was unheard of in independent India. Treating EC as a subservient tool is yet another low in Modi government’s record of destroying every institution,” Surjewala said.

    The EC sources said amid a series of correspondence between the government and the poll panel on electoral reforms, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) took the lead in organising the “informal interaction” with the three commissioners.

    Responding to a news report published on Friday that the Law Ministry had sent a letter to the EC saying that the principal secretary to the prime minister will chair a meeting on common electoral roll and “expects the CEC” to be present, the sources said the three commissioners did not attend that formal meeting.

    Responding to the news report, former chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi said it was “absolutely shocking”.

    When asked to explain his remarks, he said his words have summed up everything.

    The sources said senior EC officials attended the formal meeting, besides officials from the Law Ministry.

    The Legislative Department in the Law Ministry is the nodal agency for EC-related matters.

    The sources said the result of the informal interaction with the PMO resulted in the Union Cabinet on Wednesday clearing various electoral reforms that the EC had been insisting be brought in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

    One of the reforms is linking Aadhaar with electoral rolls on a voluntary basis.

    The other will allow eligible young people to register as voters on four dates every year.

    As of now there is one qualifying date — January 1 of every year — to register as a voter for those who have turned 18 or above on January 1.

    The sources pointed out that crucial electoral reforms have been pending for the last 25 years.

    The EC had been writing to the government for pushing reforms and the Law Ministry had been seeking clarifications.

    The informal interaction, the sources said, helped bridge the gaps in understanding on key issues.

    “Reforms have to be done like that,” a senior EC functionary said.

    There is no impropriety in pushing for reforms, the sources asserted.

    They reminded that CECs have written letters to law ministers, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and incumbent Kiren Rijiju, seeking their help in implementing electoral reforms.

    Usually, law ministers and legislative secretaries have been meeting the commissioners on various issues at the Nirvachan Sadan.

    The commissioners never call on the ministers as part of protocol since the EC is an independent Constitutional body.

    Congress leader Manish Tewari on Friday submitted a notice to move an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha on the “summoning” of the EC for a meeting in the PMO to discuss electoral reforms.

    In the notice, he raised questions on the autonomy of the poll panel, but Lok Sabha was adjourned amid uproar over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

    The former information and broadcasting minister said he will submit the notice to move the adjournment motion again on Monday.

    “Why was the Election Commission summoned summarily and whether it is a fact that the commission took umbrage to the manner in which they were virtually compelled to attend the meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office,” Tewari said.

  • CEC Chandra writes to Law Minister Prasad reminding him of pending electoral reforms

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra has written to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad requesting for expedited action on the electoral reform proposals pending with the government, including the one which seeks an enhanced two-year jail term for those furnishing incorrect information in their poll affidavit.

    “I have written to the law minister to expedite these proposals and hopefully they will be taken up early by the ministry,” Chandra told PTI.

    The letter was sent by the CEC last month.

    Enhancing the imprisonment period for those furnishing incorrect details in poll affidavits from existing six months to two years is a key electoral reform proposal of the Election Commission.

    A two-year jail term could bar the candidate from contesting elections for six years.

    “The present six-month imprisonment does not lead to disqualification,” lamented Chandra.

    The Election Commission has also proposed making paid news an electoral offence under the Representation of the People Act to provide a strong deterrent against the malpractice.

    The poll panel, reminded the CEC, has also proposed a ban on political advertisements in newspapers during the “silence period” between the end of campaign and the day of polling so that the electorate is not influenced and can exercise the franchise with a free mind.

    The move will require changes in the Representation of the People Act.

    A committee, tasked with proposing changes in electoral laws dealing with campaigning in the 48 hours prior to polling, had recommended a ban on advertisements in newspapers on the day of polling.

    As of now, only the electronic media is barred from showing election publicity material during the 48 hours before conclusion of polling.

    But the committee recommended bringing the print media under the ambit of Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

    The chief election commissioner said another key proposal pending with the government relates to linking electoral roll with the Aadhaar ecosystem to root out multiple enrolments.

    Law Minister Prasad had recently said in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha that the EC proposal was under the consideration of the government and that this would require amendments to electoral laws.

    “The matter is under the consideration of the government,” he had said.

    According to the EC proposal sent in August 2019, the electoral law should be amended to empower electoral registration officers to seek Aadhaar number of existing voters as well as of those applying to enrol themselves in the voter list.

    In August 2015, a Supreme Court order on Aadhaar had put the brakes on the Election Commission’s project to link Aadhaar number with electoral data.

    The poll panel was then collecting Aadhaar number as part of its National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP).

    Seeking to check multiple entries in electoral rolls and to make them error-free, the Election Commission had embarked on the ambitious project to link Aadhaar numbers with electoral data.

    Since the Supreme Court order makes it clear that sanction of law is required to collect Aadhaar number, the Commission has proposed changes in electoral law, a poll panel functionary had recently explained.

  • Would like to ensure ongoing assembly polls are held in peaceful and fair manner: CEC Chandra

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Sushil Chandra, who assumed charge as the 24th Chief Election Commissioner on Tuesday, said he would like to ensure that the ongoing assembly elections in West Bengal are held in a very peaceful and fair manner so that voters in even the vulnerable areas can cast their votes without any fear.

    Chandra was appointed as the CEC on Monday, the day Sunil Arora demitted office. “I would like to ensure that the elections (in the remaining phases in West Bengal) should be held in a very peaceful and very, very free and fair manner so that voters even in the vulnerable areas can cast their votes without any fear,” Chandra told PTI after assuming charge as CEC.

    The high-octane assembly election campaign in West Bengal, where the BJP and the Trinamool Congress have unleashed a no-holds-barred attack against each other, has seen the EC clamping down on leaders of both parties for their objectionable utterances. The first four phases of polls in the state have been marred by violence.

    While the three-phased assembly polls in Assam and the single-phase elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry have concluded, West Bengal is going through eight phases of polls.

    The fifth phase is on April 17. Chandra said that an “atmosphere has to be created” to ensure free and fair polls. Asked how the poll panel will go about it, the CEC said the EC is monitoring and talking to all the officers on the ground as well as the observers and detailed meetings are taking place.

    Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

    Under him, the Election Commission will hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

    The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year. The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 14 next year.

    Chandra belongs to the 1980 batch of the Indian Revenue Service. He is also an ex-officio member of the Delimitation Commission since February 18, 2020, looking after the process in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

    Having held several posts in the Income Tax Department for nearly 39 years, Chandra was appointed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman on November 1, 2016.

    He spent considerable time as Director of Investigation and Director General of Investigation, Mumbai and Gujarat, respectively followed by his stint as Member (Investigation), CBDT and thereafter assuming the post of Chairman of this apex body.

    “Transparency and purity of political finance are of vital importance for a free and fair electoral process and the creation of a level playing field.

    “Continuing the crusade that he started as CBDT Chairman against the menace of black money, Chandra was proactive as the erstwhile Election Commissioner in curbing the use of money power that vitiates the electoral process,” the Commission said on Tuesday.

    He has constantly emphasised the concept of “inducement-free” elections and it has become an integral dimension of monitoring the electoral process in all ongoing and forthcoming elections, the EC said.

  • Sushil Chandra assumes charge as Chief Election Commissioner

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Sushil Chandra assumed charge as the 24th Chief Election Commissioner on Tuesday.

    Chandra was appointed as the CEC on Monday, the day Sunil Arora demitted office.

    Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

    He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

    Under him, the Election Commission (EC) will hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

    The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year.

    The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 14 next year.

    Chandra belongs to the 1980 batch of the Indian Revenue Service.

    He is also an ex-officio member of the Delimitation Commission since February 18, 2020 looking after the process in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

    Having held several posts in the Income Tax Department for nearly 39 years, Chandra was appointed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman on November 1, 2016.

    He spent considerable time as Director of Investigation and Director General of Investigation, Mumbai and Gujarat, respectively followed by his stint as Member (Investigation), CBDT and thereafter assuming the post of Chairman of this apex body.

    “Transparency and purity of political finance are of vital importance for free and fair electoral process and the creation of a level playing field.

    Continuing the crusade that he started as CBDT Chairman against the menace of black money, Chandra was proactive as the erstwhile Election Commissioner in curbing the use of money power that vitiates the electoral process,” the Commission said on Tuesday.

    He has constantly emphasised the concept of “inducement-free” elections and it has become an integral dimension of monitoring the electoral process in all ongoing and forthcoming elections, the EC said.

  • Sushil Chandra appointed as Chief Election Commissioner

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra was on Monday appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner, the Law Ministry said.

    According to a statement issued by the Legislative Department of the ministry, Chandra will assume charge on April 13. Incumbent Sunil Arora demits office on Monday.

    Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

    Under him, the Election Commission would hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

    The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year.

    The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 14 next year. New assemblies have to be constituted before their five year term ends.

  • Sushil Chandra will be the new Chief Election Commissioner of the country, order may be issued at any time

    Sushil Chandra is almost certain to become the Chief Election Commissioner. Let us know that Sushil Chandra was appointed Election Commissioner on 14 February 2019 before the Lok Sabha elections. If sources are to be believed, the order to become their Chief Election Commissioner can be issued at any time. Sushil Chandra will be the new Chief Election Commissioner of the country in place of Sunil Arora.

  • Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra set to be next chief election commissioner

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra is set to become the next chief election commissioner, sources said on Sunday.

    Going by the convention of appointing the senior-most election commissioner as the CEC, the government is learnt to have cleared his name for the top post at Nirvachan Sadan.

    The order of his elevation maybe issued anytime, the sources said. Chandra will assume charge on April 13, a day after incumbent Sunil Arora demits office.

    Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

    Under him, the Election Commission would hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

    The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year.

    The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 14 next year. New assemblies have to be constituted before their five year term ends. Chandra was the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes before he joined the poll panel.

  • Election Commission to visit poll-bound Assam, Bengal from Monday

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora along with Election Commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar will visit Assam and West Bengal beginning Monday to take stock of preparations for assembly polls to be held in the next few months.

    The commission would reach Guwahati on Monday evening and leave for Kolkata on January 20 evening according to the programme decided last week, official sources said.

    Deputy Election Commissioner Sudip Jain was in West Bengal last week to meet officials.

    This was Jain’s second visit to West Bengal.

    Another EC official was in Assam to take stock of the situation there.

    They had briefed the commission about their visits to the two states on Friday.

    It is usual for the commission to visit poll-bound states before announcing the schedule of Assembly elections.

    But it had visited Bihar after announcing the dates for the recently concluded elections.

    The terms of the legislative assemblies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry are coming to an end on different dates in May and June this year.

    The Assembly elections are likely to take place sometime in April and May.

    The Election Commission had last week discussed with Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla the availability and requirement of central security forces for the upcoming Assembly elections.

    The meeting held at the EC headquarters here was “primarily to discuss requirement vis-a -vis availability of central armed police forces, and related matters, for the upcoming assembly elections to the states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Puducherry,” the poll panel had said.