We were not soft on politicians: poll panel chief - Hindu Business Line

We cannot shout from rooftops that we are tough. Our actions must speak: VS Sampath

For the first time in almost two decades, the Election Commission has been accused of bias both by the BJP and the Left. Reports of booth-capturing and rigging have surfaced from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and leaders of the two leading national parties — Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi — have been accused of election malpractice. But Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath asserts that the Commission has neither been soft on political leaders nor ignored any allegation.

In an interview with Business Line, Sampath said that, for the first time, the Commission prohibited those spreading hate from campaigning and lodged cases against leaders regardless of their stature. Excerpts from the interview:

There is a perception that the Commission has been slow and lenient towards erring politicians. Then there is the issue of high-level appointments including that of the Army Chief. You have delayed taking a decision on all these issues till the last minute…

We administer the elections under the Model Code of Conduct. As many as 16,000 FIRs have been filed under the Code. It is not as if action is taken in every case at the Commission level. We intervene only where required. On the BJP’s complaints about appointments, there is another view that in the name of the Code, the Commission is paralysing normal governance. We have to examine these issues carefully. The Commission is extra sensitive when it comes to sectors such as Defence. That is why as early as March 27 we relayed our view to the Defence Ministry that matters relating to recruitment, promotion, etc., need not come to the Commission. The country’s governance cannot come to a standstill for two months in the name of the Code.

What about the perceived difference in the way the Commission acted on the complaints against Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. Against Rahul Gandhi, the complaint surfaced on May 9 and within three days you decided he was not guilty. But in the case of Modi, there was an FIR on April 30. Could you update us on the status of the case?

We found the latter case (Modi’s case) actionable under Section 126 of the Representation of the People’s Act.

Direction was given to the authorities concerned to take a certain course of action. After that, it is a matter of investigation by that authority. The matter will go before the competent judicial authority. We initiate action, after that the law takes its course. The Commission will not get involved in the day-to-day monitoring of such cases.

Regarding the other case (Rahul Gandhi’s) the factual position was not as clear. We had to get a report. The moment the report came and we found there was no irregularity, we decided there is no action due.

Another decision which came in for criticism was a rally of the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. The BJP has alleged that in the same locality on a subsequent day, another rally was allowed. Why was that?

The decision to allow a rally or not at a particular venue is taken by the competent local authority. We are not familiar with the situation about specific venues — a particular road or whether something should be in the day or night. The Commission does not micro-manage.

However, due to the stature of the personality involved in this case, we were not content with the inputs given by the District Magistrate and Returning Officer. The matter was further checked at the highest administrative level in the State — with the Chief Secretary and the Director-General of Police. Remember that all this was done when one phase of elections was taking place. In the midst of that, we had to check all these things. When we find that people had come to a conclusion based on due diligence, the Commission cannot superimpose its judgment on theirs.

Allegations of booth capturing and rigging have been made more often in this election than in the past. In UP and West Bengal, the Left has been agitated about this. Have you looked into the matter? Why did you not order a re-poll?

There are standard procedures to examine requests for a re-poll. Whenever there are complaints of rigging or booth capturing, we have a mechanism to examine them. All requests for re-poll alleging rigging and booth capturing are referred to the returning officer. We order a re-poll only based on substantive evidence.

Normally a day after the polls, the returning officer and the Commission’s observer sit together and do a scrutiny. In that, all records of the polling station are examined to see if any irregularity has been committed. In this exercise, the candidate or his election agent is also present.

Besides central police force, there are micro-observers as well as video cameras at polling stations for monitoring. We had instructed our officers that within 30 minutes of getting a complaint, an officer from outside should visit that polling station to check whether polling is taking place and give a report. So decisions like re-poll are not taken simply because a representation has been made. Due verification has to be done of each complaint.

There is a perception that you were not effective in curbing hate speeches, personal attacks…

Please compare the action taken in this election with that in the past. Actually for the first time, we prohibited some ‘hate speakers’ from conducting meetings. Some of the speakers happened to be star campaigners. We cannot go on shouting from rooftops that we are tough. Our actions must speak for themselves.

Haven’t these elections gone on interminably? Could you not have cut down on the number of phases?

The length of the elections is the period from the date of announcement to the date of counting. You should compare the current elections with 2009. In 2009, the election announcement was made on March 2 and counting was on May 16, while in 2014, we announced the elections on March 5 and counting is scheduled on the same day, that is, May 16. What is the difference?

(This article was published on May 15, 2014)