Amid reports that Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has recused himself from meetings on Model Code of Conduct (MCC) matters, pending the demand for inclusion of dissenting opinion in orders, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday said no such meetings had been held lately.
Reports in a a section of the media stated that Mr. Lavasa wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora thrice, demanding that minority opinions be made part of the orders on MCC issues.
He gave a dissenting opinion in at least four cases , in which the ECI did not find any violation in the speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, by a majority of 2:1.
When asked, Mr. Arora had maintained that dissenting opinions were not incorporated in any non quasi-judicial directive, which included MCC matters. Such orders are signed by an official, not the Election Commissioners.
“The order, in which the campaigning period in nine constituencies of West Bengal was curtailed by a day, has been signed by Mr. Arora and two Election Commissioners, including Mr. Lavasa. This, because it pertains to the Representation of the People Act,” said an official.
In his letters dated May 4, 10 and 14, Mr. Lavasa said minority views needed to be included for greater transparency.
