Rahul condoles Seshan's demise, takes a dig at EC

The Opposition leaders on Monday condoled the death of former Election Commissioner, T N Seshan, and did not miss the opportunity to tacitly taking dig at the incumbent poll-panel.

Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) sought to tacitly draw a comparison between the EC with Seshan at its helm and the present-day commission, which was accused by the Opposition parties of being biased to the ruling BJP during several elections in the past, including the Lok Sabha polls in April-May this year.

Seshan's successors at the Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi too mourned his death.

Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora, and Election Commissioners, Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra, issued a statement, paying homage to their legendary predecessor and underlining that he had redeemed the autonomy and authority that the Article 324 of the Constitution of India had bestowed upon the Election Commission (EC).

Seshan was the “right man, in the right place, at the right time”, the EC stated on Monday, adding: “He became a symbol of a crusade against electoral corruption. He created an environment and consciousness whereby citizens felt that they were the main stakeholders in the elections.”

Yechurity tweeted that Seshan's absence would be felt gravely in “today's times”.

“Notwithstanding our many disagreements, he made the Election Commission a tough and independent institution. This is in stark contrast to what we have today. Deep condolences to his family and near ones,” the CPM general secretary posted on Twitter.

“Unlike today, there was a time when our Election Commissioners were impartial, respected, brave & (and) feared. Shri #TNSeshan was one of them. My condolences to his family on his passing” tweeted Rahul.

The EC over the past few years came under criticism by several opposition parties for allegedly being biased towards the ruling BJP – particularly in fixing the schedule of polling and enforcing the provisions of the poll-time Model Code of Conduct.

Lavasa's disagreement with Arora and Chandra on the issue of implementation of Model Code of Conduct during the parliamentary polls had come to public domain.

The BJP-led government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched a probe against Lavasa, asking 11 public sector undertakings to verify if he had exercised “undue influence” during his tenure at the Ministry of Power from 2009 to 2013.

“He (Seshan) upheld the dignity of his office & earned respect by his fierce independence & effective functioning,” Lavasa tweeted, adding: “A goalpost for his successors, he continues to be a benchmark for the constitutional framework of a thriving democracy.”