BJP attacks on EC an act of desperation: Chidambaram

Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday hit out at BJP prime ministerial candidate >Narendra Modi for his attack on the Election Commission saying, “I don’t agree that this is the weakest Election Commission; the attacks show the BJP’s desperation in the polls.”

Briefing reporters at the AICC headquarters here, Mr. Chidambaram said that according to him, what the BJP had done in Varanasi on Thursday was an act of desperation.

“I don’t think Mr. Modi’s outrageous attacks diminish the authority of the EC, rather they reveal the character of the person making the allegations”, the Minister said, adding that the authority of the EC must be measured by the outcome of the polls, the turnout, the incidence of violence and electoral malpractices rather than by the allegations being levelled against it by somebody.

“We too have disagreements on some aspects of rules and regulations with the Election Commission. However, they are doing a tremendous… a splendid job of conducting the elections,” Mr. Chidambaram said when asked about Mr. Modi’s recent attacks.

Mr. Chidamabram said he believed that the BJP is attacking the EC as it is getting a bit desperate. “The EC has accorded permission to them on four out of the five events they had requested for. Then why should they take umbrage because just one event is denied… When the prime ministerial candidate of a political party makes “outrageous comments against the EC, it speaks more about him rather than the EC.”

The BJP on Thursday protested against the EC’s refusal to grant permission to Mr. Modi for holding a rally in Varanasi. The party demanded the removal of the Returning Officer in Varanasi.

The Finance Minister, however, added that given the technological advance made in modes of transportation and communication, next time the election duration should be compressed to three to four weeks.

Mr. Chidambaram dismissed a question about Rahul Gandhi’s reported presence on Tuesday in an EVM enclosure during polling in Amethi. “The returning officer was there…the polling officer was there… how can I say if he violated by looking at a picture in a newspaper,” he said.

Answering questions about the economy, he said he believes that the economy has stabilised and “for higher growth path the investment cycle has to start again.”