Former bureaucrats seek EC action against ‘witch-hunt of Opposition’

They allege that vendetta politics is being practised now to deny Opposition parties the freedom to actively participate in the election process

A group of former civil servants has flagged the “disturbing pattern of harassment and witch-hunt” of Opposition parties and politicians, specially the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, during the run-up to the general election, and asked the Election Commission (EC) to take “firm action”.

In an open letter to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and two Election Commissioners, the Constitutional Conduct Group said its members have served the Central and State governments in various capacities, and have no affiliation with any political party but are strongly committed to the ideals enshrined in the Constitution.

The letter, which was signed by 87 former civil servants, said: “The arrest of a senior Opposition political functionary at a juncture when the Lok Sabha election had been announced and the Model Code of Conduct was in place reeks, to our mind, of deliberate, motivated executive action”.

“We are not questioning the right of law enforcement agencies to take steps to check corruption in high places and bring to book the guilty. What we are concerned about is the timing of this arrest,” they said.

‘Disturbing pattern’

The letter said the AAP Chief Minister’s arrest was not an isolated instance. “A disturbing pattern of harassment and witch-hunt of Opposition parties and Opposition politicians on the cusp of the general elections calls into question the motivation of the agencies.”

“Given the tardy record of the central law enforcement agencies in completing investigations and filing chargesheets, the undue zeal in selectively pursuing these cases gives rise to the suspicion that the motivation goes beyond a mere desire to enforce justice”.

The former civil servants said the pattern of events over the past month calls for firm action from the EC to quell the rising public suspicion that the EC is sitting silent while a politics of vendetta is being practised to deny Opposition parties the freedom to actively participate in the election process.

EC ‘diffdence’

In spite of the enormous powers vested in it under Article 324 of the Constitution, the EC, in recent years, has exhibited a “strange diffidence, especially in dealing with actions that impact the conduct of free and fair elections”, the letter said.

“We urge the EC to live up to the shining legacy bequeathed by a line of eminent persons who have led the EC in the past seven decades. The nation looks to you to act with firmness and determination to maintain the reputation and sanctity of the world’s largest electoral exercise”.