New Delhi: A day after the Election Commission suspended Karnataka cadre IAS officer Mohammed Mohsin for checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter at Sambalpur in Odisha in his capacity of general observer, a former Union secretary has termed it a “highly questionable response”.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and the two Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra, former secretary E.A.S. Sarma has accused the Commission of not supporting the officer for performing his duty. The officer in question, Mohammad Mohsin, is at present serving as a secretary in Karnataka’s Backward Class Welfare Department and was posted in Sambalpur on election duty.
Officer suspended to searching PM’s chopper
The incident occurred while the prime minister was in addressing the rally at Sambalpur. According to media reports, “Mohsin approached the SPG stationed by the helicopter and requested a search. SPG demanded a document authorising him to do so. The search was allowed, but it delayed the PM’s departure by 20 minutes.”
Following this, the Commission suspended him for not acting in conformity with its instructions. PTI quoted an EC official as saying Mohsin’s action was “contrary to the instructions of the Commission concerned SPG protectees.”
In fact, it seems there are no instructions which exempt the transport vehicles of SPG protectees from being searched at election time.
Asked to provide the exact rule or exemption which Mohsin allegedly flouted, the EC spokesperson provided The Wire a copy of a March 2019 EC memo which references a Bureau of Civil Aviation Security note. However, the line about exemptions in that document applies only to commercial airports – which the Sambalpur airstrip is not.
In any event, the EC’s argument did not find favour with Sarma. He charged that “the Commission has invoked a strange rule that the election personnel should not inspect the vehicles of SPG-protected persons and resorted to finding fault with the concerned officer who had merely done his duty to make sure that no cash was being carried in the chopper.”
Also read: EC Suspends Officer for Checking PM Modi’s Helicopter in Sambalpur
‘EC shying away from treating PM at par with CMs’
In this regard, he alleged that the Commission of “unnecessarily shied away from treating Shri Narendra Modi on par with the other political leaders including the chief ministers.”
“What applies to the chief minister of a state should apply equally to Shri Narendra Modi, as both Shri Modi and the chief ministers are doing election work of the same kind,” he reasoned.
He also wrote: “I find that the Commission appointed officers in the States have not hesitated to inspect the convoys of the Chief Ministers, especially those belonging to the opposition parties. They have even been inspecting the helicopters in which the Chief Ministers have been travelling. On the other hand, the Commission has been somewhat hesitant when it comes to the convoys accompanying Shri Narendra Modi.”
‘Odisha CM’s chopper searched the same day’
Sarma’s argument carries weight because on Tuesday itself, a flying squad inspected the helicopter of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Rourkela, while he was sitting inside it. The team approached the chopper as soon as it landed.
Hon’ble CM Shri.Naveen Patnaik’s helicopter is searched by the Election Commission team and the humility with which Naveen Babu cooperates is a lesson for those arrogant politicians who misbehave with Election Commission teams when their sealed suitcases & helicopters are checked pic.twitter.com/imz9An31aT
— Dr. Sasmit Patra (@sasmitpatra) April 17, 2019
In his letter, Sarma also pointed to the earlier alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh. He wrote: “I am disappointed that the Commission has not responded in the matter. Inaction in the case of these three persons has already raised questions in the mind of the public about the impartiality of the Commission.”
Congress earlier complained to CEC about suspicious box in PM’s chopper
Sarma also noted that the opposition parties have demanded a verification from the Commission about a “suspicious box” carried in Modi’s convoy. He was referring to a Congress delegation meeting the CEC and seeking an investigation into a “suspicious black box” alleging that it was carried in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter during his poll campaign in Karnataka’s Chitradurga.
In light of this complaint, Sarma said, “the Commission has invoked a strange rule that the election personnel should not inspect the vehicles of SPG-protected persons and resorted to finding fault with the concerned officer who had merely done his duty to make sure that no cash was being carried in the chopper.”
Also read: Editorial: The Election Commission’s Silence Is Complicity
‘Special treatment to PM militates against spirit of Constitution’
Referring to the PM, he also questioned, “Why should the Commission accord any special treatment to him and his convoy, especially when doubts have been expressed by the opposition parties about suspicious boxes being carried in the convoys accompanying him?”
The retired bureaucrat reminded the poll panel that “Article 324 casts an obligation on the Commission to conduct elections in a free and a fair manner. If the Commission had issued any executive instructions on SPG-protected persons, in my view, such instructions cannot and should not override the Constitutional obligation of the Commission. Such instructions militate against the spirit of the Constitution.”
He therefore urged that the PM be treated at “par with the other political leaders” and the suspension order of Mohsin be revoked.