Just a day after Arun Goel stepped down from his post as the election commissioner of the country, Opposition parties launched multiple attacks on the Modi government over his resignation, hinting at differences between Goel and the Centre.
Congress and opposition parties, on Sunday, asked the central government whether Goel stepped down from his post due to differences with the CEC or with the Modi government.
Taking potshots at the BJP, some opposition leaders also wondered if Goel resigned to contest the Lok Sabha polls on its ticket like former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay. “The resignation of Arun Goel as Election Commissioner last evening raises three questions,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.
Posting on X, Jairam Ramesh said, “Did he actually resign over differences with the Chief Election Commissioner or with the Modi Government, which does the front-seat driving for all supposedly independent institutions? Or did he resign for personal reasons?”
He further added, “Or did he, like the Calcutta High Court Judge a few days back, resign to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket.”
Ramesh further alleged that the the Election Commission has refused to meet with INDIA parties for more than eight months. INDIA parties have been pressing the ECI to discuss the issue of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) that is essential to prevent “electronic voting manipulation”.
On Goel’s resignation, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that one needs to wait and see “what he does” in the next few days. “I was thinking that after the high court judge resigned and joined the BJP the next day and started abusing the TMC. It shows that the BJP has appointed people with such a mindset. Now the election commissioner has resigned, let us wait for some time to see what he does,” he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged the Election Commission has become an “extended branch of the BJP”. It is not the same Election Commission that it was during TN Seshan’s time, which functioned as a watchdog over the elections and remained impartial, he claimed.
As reactions to Goel’s resignation poured in, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi demanded answers from the former election commissioner regarding the proximity of him stepping down to the Lok Sabha elections.
“It would be better if he (Arun Goel) himself or the government would tell the reason behind the resignation ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)