BJP urges poll panel to stop govt from going ahead with major appointments

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said to be the front-runner in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India, has urged the Election Commission (EC) to prevent the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from going ahead with major appointments, including the Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, while the poll process is on.

“This is to seek your intervention in the tendency that seems to be on the increase in the government to make major appointments during the election process itself,” the BJP said in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath.

The BJP referred to the “undue haste” with which the government had allegedly appointed the new Navy chief recently and said something similar was being planned in respect of naming a successor to the present Army chief, who is due to retire from service in July.

The letter also said the BJP had heard that there was “some hurried activity” in hastening in the process of selection of the Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman. “It may be recalled the process of selection got aborted by the exit of the eminent jurists and as such the whole selection process currently stands vitiated. These are not desirable trends in a healthy democracy,” the BJP said. “Consequently, we request the Election Commission to direct the government to put all major appointments on hold till the new government takes over,” it added.

Meanwhile, writing in his blog, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said that, on the eve of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, the UPA government had decided to rush through with the appointment with the chairperson of the Lokpal and its members. “The Lok Pal appointment controversy refuses to die. The UPA government has framed rules under the Lokpal Act. The rules prima facie run contrary to the Act. This is already a subject matter of a challenge before the Supreme Court,” he said.

He said the government had hurriedly appointed a Search Committee, but the Department of Personnel had usurped the power of the Search Committee and prepared a short list of persons from whom the appointments would be made. “Everyone including some distinguished members of the Search Committee were uneasy about the procedure being followed. Two eminent members Fali S. Nariman and Justice K.T. Thomas resigned from the Search Committee citing this as the reason,” he said.

“Today, there is no Search Committee with a full quorum. After the Search Committee is constituted, it will have to scrutinize all the names of the persons who could be recommended for appointment. Thereafter, the Search Committee would ratify the same and send them to the president.

“Half the elections in the country have been completed and 26 days are remaining for the declaration of the results and the formation of a new government. Is it proper for the UPA, on the eve of its certain departure, to rush through with the appointment of the Lokpal? Certainly not,” he said.

Jaitley said it would be a gross political impropriety and violation of the Code of Conduct, if the UPA rushed through its appointment at this stage. “Besides this, the procedure is legally suspect. Such unholy haste will destroy the credibility of the Lokpal even before it is formed. This procedure should be stopped immediately. The effort of the Prime Minister’s Office to convene a meeting of the Selection Committee for filling up the vacancies of the Search Committee should not be allowed to succeed,” he said.

According to media reports, Dr Singh has proposed to members of the Selection Committee that a meeting be held on a day between April 24 and 28 to appoint the Lokpal and its members.

The NGO had, in March, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the court in this regard, after which the court had issued a notice to the government asking it to justify the rules framed by it for appointment of the Lokpal.

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• India