SIR Row: Chandrababu Naidu Faces Questions Over Shift in EC Stand
A major controversy is now raging across the country over the ‘SIR’. National media reports say that as many as 13 crore votes have been deleted across the country in the name of the SIR. In particular, the conduct of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has become highly controversial. Media reports that two Election Commissioners have raised objections, alleging that the CEC took decisions unilaterally, have once again brought the functioning of the Election Commission into intense discussion. After seeing the way Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu responded to this issue, a discussion is underway that Chandrababu Naidu could be considered an ‘icon’ of opportunistic politics in the country. TDP floor leader in the Lok Sabha, Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, said the Election Commission should clear the doubts prevailing among the people regarding the alleged irregularities in the SIR. With the controversy over the SIR intensifying across the country, the CEC held a meeting on Saturday and issued several clarifications. This, indirectly, amounted to an unofficial acknowledgement that some mistakes had occurred in the past.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu responded to the Election Commission’s statement. He said that respecting constitutional institutions is extremely important and that maintaining the people’s faith in the country’s democratic process is the collective responsibility of all leaders, irrespective of political parties. He went on to say that all apprehensions had been cleared following the joint statement issued by the three commissioners on the SIR. However, in April 2019, the same Chandrababu Naidu had posted a tweet stating that all democratic institutions in the country were under attack and that Modi had systematically undermined the independent functioning of prestigious institutions in the country. He had criticised the government for not sparing even constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission, apart from the CBI and RBI. Now, however, he is saying that everything has been settled with a mere face-saving statement.
While he was Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu had even gone to the office of the then Chief Electoral Officer, Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, during the election period, expressed his serious anger against him and staged a protest. At the time, the incident created a major controversy. While the situation with Chandrababu Naidu is like this, YSRCP chief and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is now making a soft push, saying that democracy can survive only when people have complete faith in constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission. The same YSRCP led by Jagan Mohan Reddy had supported the amendment Bill brought by the Modi government at the Centre regarding the appointment of Election Commissioners.
Earlier, the committee for appointing Election Commissioners consisted of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Leader of the Opposition. The Modi government made changes to the system, replacing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court with a Union Minister nominated by the Prime Minister as a member of the committee. As a result, a situation arose where the name suggested by those belonging to the ruling party could ultimately be finalised. After the SIR controversy came to the fore, YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy is now demanding that the old system be brought back. He is demanding that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court should be made a member of the committee.
