EC Vs EC: Ashok Lavasa recuses EC meetings over poll violations; Sunil Arora says, ‘dissent not new’

Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has recused himself from attending the poll body meetings over violations of model code of conduct over his "minority decisions going unrecorded" on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clean chit.

Lavasa disagreed with the poll panel’s decision to give clean chits to PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah over alleged violation of MCC. He wrote least three letters to the CEC Sunil Arora to accept his demand for including minority decisions in the poll body’s final orders.

The Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Saturday issued a statement over media reports on Ashok Lavasa recusing himself from poll body meeting and the difference in the poll panel saying the election commissioners are not “expected to be clones of each other.”

“The three members of EC are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can, and should be,’ Arora said in a statement on Ashok Lavasa’s purported letter to him.

The three-member Election Commission consists of Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and two election commissioners--Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

“Minority decisions recorded by me in several cases continue to be suppressed in a manner contrary to well-established conventions observed by multi-member statutory bodies," Lavasa wrote CEC Sunil Arora.

"...It appears futile for me to participate in the deliberations of the commission until its lawful functioning is restored in terms of including the minority decisions recorded by me," he said.

"In the present circumstances, I am left with no option but to keep away from such proceedings. I may also take recourse to other requisite measures in respect of the above (lawful functioning of the commission in terms of including my minority views)," Lavasa said.

Lavasa on five occasions had opposed the clean chits given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah on charges of violating the MCC during the poll campaign.

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