New Delhi, November 17: After the unprecedented recommendation by his predecessor, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla wants the Constitution to be amended so that the removal procedure for the Election Commissioners should be similar to that of the CEC.
Seven months after he assumed charge in the Constitutional post, he considers the amendment as a “last mile” which is a “priority” for him.
In an interview to a news agency, the CEC spoke his mind on electoral reforms including barring candidates with criminal background, de-registering non-serious parties which have mushroomed, how Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are reliable and paid news syndrome in the media during elections.
Chawla, who assumed the office after the first phase of Lok Sabha polls after government rejected his predecessor N Gopalaswami’s recommendations for his removal on the alleged ground of “partisanship”, said he will write to the government making his recommendations for the Constitutional amendment.
“Now after the Supreme Court judgement in the Seshan case and after the statutory amendments, I am firmly of the view that the removal procedure for the other two Commissioners must also be similar to that of the CEC.
“When there is no difference in our powers, no difference in our emoluments, when two can overrule the third, it is just that last mile that needs to be undergone,” he said.
–Agencies