INTERVIEW: M S GILL
"We are not a Law Unto
Ourselves"Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill projects the conciliatory
face of the EC in a conversation with Editor Prabhu
Chawla and Senior Assistant Editor Rohit
Saran. Excerpts:
 There is a growing perception that the EC
is a law unto itself.
No way. The EC is bound by the Constitution and the laws made by Parliament. I am
always aware that I have no mandate of the Indian people. Nobody has elected me to this
post. The commission must always keep its ears to the ground to know what the people
expect of us and obey them.
You have also been compared to your predecessor
T.N. Seshan.
Seshan and I are like chalk and cheese. I'm only one third of the commission, I
really mean it. My colleagues and I (the two election commissioners) have intense debates
on issues. But all decisions are unanimous.
The present code of conduct seems to target parties
in power.
Since the party in power is also the party seeking to return to power, it is
necessary to ensure that it does not use official resources to come back to power. That
destroys the level playing field. I admit that the EC is not always right but we don't do
things in a negative spirit.
Should the code of conduct be converted into law?
The EC has formally opposed such a move. Not because we want to retain power but
simply because the application of the code of conduct requires instant reaction.
What legal backing does the code of conduct have?
What if a political party or a candidate flouts it?
The code of conduct is a voluntary agreement among all the major parties and the
EC. It is not a law and should not be made into one. If a party defies it, there is no law
against that. But remember, all the parties do agree before every election to abide by it.
Why should parties not campaign on the electronic
media?
That'll distort the field in favour of the large parties.
But inequality already exists because parties are
free to advertise in the print media.
I concede that. But our stance is not to allow it on television. It's not a perfect
stand. That's all I can say.
What's the merit behind the ban on the media
travelling on the prime minister's aircraft ?
For years the EC has had the policy of only allowing the prime minister to use
official aircraft. Only DD has been allowed to travel with the prime minister. We stand by
that policy.
During Charan Singh's tenure in 1979 the media
travelled with him and paid for it.
We are aware of it but right now the EC order stands.
Isn't the EC's choice of Kapil Sibal to represent
its case against the Uttar Pradesh Government a blow to its credibility?
The EC was facing a complex litigation. If we had lost the case it would have been
a setback to the code of conduct. Both Sibal and Arun Jaitley are good lawyers. We
requested Sibal as it was important for us to be present in the court that day. Next time
I'm determined to have Jaitley fight a case for us. You should not judge our independence
by such small factors. |
