The Hindu Business Line : <I>Caesar'swife</I>

It is absolutely proper for the Election Commission to expect that in the interests of free, fair and clean election, everyone who is associated with any part of the arrangements should, like Caesar's wife, be above even an iota of suspicion. But, at the same time, it is its bounden duty to apply the adage to itself and not only to be, but also to appear to be, above board in the actions it undertakes.

It has fallen short of these expectations on three occasions in the recent past. The first was in respect of a former IAS officer and its own Election Observer in Bihar, Mr L. V. Saptarishi's disclosure that some members of the Commission whom he named had made casteist remarks. From all I know of Mr Saptarishi for close to 30 years, he is a very sober and responsible person. However, he was put to shabby treatment, without any inquiry by an independent eminent public figure into his statements, while the say-so of the Election Commissioners concerned was accepted as final.

The second instance is of the continuance of Mr Navin Chawla as an Election Commissioner despite the, by now, well-known dealings the trusts set up by his wife had had with prominent members of certain political parties.

zAs the Member-Secretary of the L. P. Singh Committee to process the findings of excesses during Emergency contained in the Shah Commission's report, I know that at one stage the members were for dismissing Mr Chawla under the security clause of the Constitution for his role in subverting it.

Third is the case of the Chennai Commissioner of Police, Mr R. Nataraj. There has as yet been no convincing explanation from the Commission as to why it acted without obtaining the officer's explanation and when the election had not yet been formally notified.

With elections round the corner, the Election Commission should watch its steps and give no room for any reasonable voter to think that it is biased, impulsive or imprudent.

B. S. Raghavan

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