May 8, 2014.
Shri V.S. Sampath,
Chief Election Commissioner,
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road,
New Delhi.
Dear Sir,
I write this letter to bring to your notice the decision of the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the Ministry of Civil Aviation having given the Airlines Operators Permit(AoP) to the Air Asia Joint Venture and Tata Singapore Airlines to start a new airlines.
In this regard I draw your attention to the Election Commission’s answer
to my RTI application No.4/RTI/2014-CC&BE/747, dated 15th April, 2014
where it stated in item 3 that my letter to the Election Commission was forwarded to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for their report/views/comments.
Subsequently I have notbeen informed whether the Election Commission replied to the same. In any case if it is not in agreement with the views expressed in my letter I would assume that the Election Commission would have held a hearing or opined in the matter.
It is quite clear based on the precedence of the Election Commission’s decision that an AoP leading to to the promised offering the lowest fares is an inducement to voters and therefore it is a clear violation of the Model Code. Moreover, there is an ongoing court case in which Contempt Petition is also pending against the DGCA and notice has been issued to him to file a Rejoinder. The matter will be heard by a specially constituted Bench in the Delhi High Court in July. Hence I see no reason whatsoever in law or by precedence that this proposal which is a new proposal be permitted
to bge cleared by a out-going Government when hardly ten days are left for the new Government to take over. This will also be a clear violation of Section 13(1)(d)(iii) ofThe Prevention of Corruption Act.
Hence I urge you to grant injunction against the implementation of the said Airlines Operators Permit and communicate the same to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and take any other further steps as you deem fit in the interest of fairness in the conduct of elections as guaranteed under Article 324 of the Constitution.
Yours sincerely,
THE CAMPAIGN DAIRY – 8-5-2014
Arun Jaitley
Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha)
I cannot conceal my disappointment with the Election Commission. Men in constitutional offices need to be bolder. Timid men can dwarf high offices.
The Election Commission scrutinizes us all the time. They are extremely vigilant in tackling the side shows in the elections. They are concerned with what adjectives are used by whom. But when it comes to preventing booth capturing which has reappeared after a decade in elections 2014 they are out of their depth.
By condoning the Returning Officer’s stand on ‘No-Modi rally’ in Varanasi city the Election Commission has used the security card to prevent Narendra Modi’s right to campaign in his constituency. If you can’t ensure security, don’t hold the polls in the country. But if you do hold the polls please provide a level playing field. You cannot deny the candidate the right to campaign. Rahul Gandhi can have a road show in Varanasi but Narendra Modi cannot have a rally. The security card is selectively used.
THE FALSEHOOD OF THE RETURNING OFFICER
- Of all the permissions given to us by the Returning Officer, two are for the landing of the helicopter. How very fair. One helicopter has been allowed to land twice – once in the rural area and once in the city.
- I withdrew all applications at 20:10 hours yesterday since it is impossible to organize a function the next day if a “mid night” permission comes. He allowed a prayer permission after 48 hours of struggle and an oral refusal earlier.
- To meet a 150 eminent citizens at a hotel banquet hall he earlier said that Shri Modi cannot be allowed to drive into the city. Two hours after I withdrew all applications, he announced to the media that he was allowing Shri Modi to meet 150 people. How very liberal. These are all the permissions with regard to the campaigning in the city. Modi’s entire campaign in Varanasi city is restricted to a prayer at the Ganga Ghat and meeting 150 persons in a hotel. Additionally there are two helicopter landings.
- Can he produce any document that the BJP had agreed to an alternate site which is much smaller? No.
If the Election Commission chooses to believe such a Returning Officer and feels that this is not a denial of opportunity to campaign, my right to Satyragrah begins. The Election Commission now condones the guilt of the Returning Officer.
My advice to the Election Commission is – dont look helpless. Don’t merely rely on the Returning Officer and officials of the Uttar Pradesh Government. They are a nominees of the people who want to prevent Modi. There is more to a campaign than a prayer and meeting 150 people.
http://www.bjp.org/en/media-resources/press-releases/article-shri-arun-jaitley-on-the-campaign-dairy-8-5-2014
Modi’s Varanasi rally: EC shoots midnight letter to Jaitley, says can’t overlook security concerns in matter
In its letter to Jaitley, the EC expressed surprise and disappointment at BJP's decision to hold protests. ![Tweet This]()
In its letter to Jaitley, the EC expressed surprise and disappointment at BJP's decision to hold protests.Facing the prospect of protests from the BJP over the issue of denial of permissions to Narendra Modi to hold rallies in Varanasi, the Election Commission, in a late night communication to party leader Arun Jaitley, said that it cannot overlook the “security concerns” in the matter and also expressed surprise and disappointment at the party’s decision to hold protests on the matter, which it said was being dealt with as per the “ground situation”.
The EC told Jaitley that “permissions for two out of the three programmes: ‘Ganga Poojan’ and ‘Meeting of eminent citizens’” had since been issued by the District Magistrate. “As regards the third event i.e. the holding of a rally, the same was under discussion because of security and related concerns”.
“You would appreciate that matter like grant of permission for rallies; meetings etc. are dealt with at the level of District Magistrate Returning officer and not directly by the Election Commission,” the EC wrote to Jaitley. It also said that BJP’s local representative, Vidyasagar Rai had already requested for an alternative site on May 6, “which was given on 7th May 2014 though you later requested the Returning Officer not to process the permissions”.
“In this whole matter, the Commission decided not to go by the version conveyed by Dlstrict Magistrate/RO alone, but also consulted the state Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, who endorsed the security and suitability aspects including capacity of the ground, raised by the District officials. You will appreciate that the Commission cannot overlook the security concerns expressed by competent authorities,” EC Principal Secretary R K Srivastava wrote to Jaitley. The communication was made public post-midnight on May 7.
Drawing Jaitley’s attention to “the fact that any past and current grievances presented by your party or any political party in connection with the ongoing elections have always been given prompt consideration”, the EC said that it “is surprised and disappointed that your party has chosen to hold protests over the aforesaid matter, which was being sought to be resolved in accordance with law and the ground situation”.
Stating that “commission has been in the process of ascertaining full facts and was due to respond to your letters at the earliest possible”, the EC told Jaitley that “this has been done even as the commission was busy transacting heavy work on poll day today”.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/modis-varanasi-rally-ec-shoots-midnight-letter-to-jaitley-says-cant-overlook-security-concerns-in-matter/