SEC Must Act Against Speaker Rahul Narwekar Over 'Poll Code Violation': Maha Cong

(MENAFN- IANS) Mumbai, Jan 3 (IANS) Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Saturday said the State Election Commission (SEC) should have registered an offence by now against Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar for allegedly pressuring opposition candidates to withdraw their nominations, paving the way for his relatives to be elected unopposed in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.

Sapkal alleged that Narwekar's conduct amounted to a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct, pointing out that CCTV footage related to the incident had been destroyed.

“This shows that the State Election Commission is not acting honestly. If not for the will of the people, then at least for the sake of its own conscience, the State Election Commission must act. Once again, it is being underlined that the Commission is tied to the BJP's leash,” Sapkal alleged.

He said constitutional authorities such as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Chairman of the Legislative Council, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the Governor are expected to maintain a non-political stance, as they hold extremely important constitutional positions.

“However, Rahul Narwekar behaved like a criminal and threatened a member of the opposition. His body language, conduct and intimidation were of an extremely low level. To ensure that a member of his own family was elected unopposed, he stood blocking the door of the election returning officer and prevented opponents from filing their nomination papers. This behaviour is disgraceful and amounts to misuse of his office,” Sapkal claimed.

Referring to former MP Haribhau Rathod, Sapkal said,“He is a former Member of Parliament. What kind of behaviour is this -- to threaten him and issue instructions to withdraw his security? As Speaker of the Assembly, Narwekar issues orders. He has begun to consider himself bigger than the Constitution.”

“We had seen horse-trading after elections, but now, even before elections, the principle of 'might is right' has begun. Those elected unopposed are not so because they are popular,” he said.

Sapkal further said elections are the essence of democracy and voting, but alleged that the entire process was being hollowed out, which, he warned, would have serious consequences for the country.

Sapkal's statement comes a day after he wrote to the SEC on Friday, demanding that cases be registered against government officers allegedly campaigning for political candidates during elections. He alleged that as many as 70 officers and employees from Narwekar's office were actively participating in election campaigning for his relatives.

Speaking on the alleged Rs 70,000 crore corruption involving Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Congress state president said that those in power were corrupt, and therefore no one was willing to take action or step down from office.

“Ajit Pawar has directly challenged Narendra Modi and Devendra Fadnavis,” Sapkal alleged.

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