Bharatiya Janata Party
To,
The Chief Election Commissioner;
Election Commission of India
Nirvachan Sadan
New Delhi
Date: 11-02-2012

Your kind attention is drawn to a news item which is being flashed by different TVchannel today(11-02-2012)reporting that shri Salman Khurshed is defiant and is reported to have stated that even if the ECIhangs him he will ensure the reservation quota for muslims.The news channel showed a video making this observation.

This defiant statement coming from the Union Law Minister, even before the ink is dry on the ECIorders of 09-02 2012 censuring him on his Farukkabad speech of 09-01-2012 literally poses a serious challenge to the authority of a constitutional body such as the ECI .Such a challenge assumes a graver dimension when it is made not in ordinary times but when the country's largest state is midway through a poll process Yet another dimension is that the challenge comes from not an ordinary citizen but from a minister of Government who is the Minister of not any ordinary subject but that of Law-an office entrusted with the task of upholding the supremacy of the Constitution and Constitutional Authorities.

It is pertinent to draw your attention to another news report of yesterday that in Azamgarh .shri Khurshed is reported to have shed tears on the Batla House shooting giving it a colour which is diametrically opposed to the govt accepted version of the incident. These postures of the Law Minister reveal a clear premeditated design on his part and that of the political Party to which he belongs of polarising the ongoing polls on communal lines and directly seeking votes on religious and communal lines.Needless to add,these attempts do distort the level playing field which is the cornerstone of free and fair elections.

If left unchecked these postures will undermine the legitimacy of the Election Commission of India. and its constitutional obligation for providing free and fair elections.

Lest the model code of conduct becomes a toothless wonder,there is dire need for the ECIto impose sanctions more stringent than mere censure It is now more than apparent that the Law minister will continue undaunted to seek votes on the basis of religion-a practice abhorred by the Commission It is therefore necessary in the fitness
of things to keep him away from the scene of Elections.

Kindly recall that during an earlier Bihar polls· the entire RJDcabinet was camping in Lalu Yadav,s constituency with their armed guards spreading terror. At our instance the ECI served an ultimatum to them to leave the constituency forthwith -a precedent that led to the ECIstipulation that all political functionaries should vacate
the constituency during the 48 hrssterlllzatlon period before the polls.

Likewise this is a fit case where the ECI could consider imposing ban on Shri Khurshed entering the state of Uttarpradesh during the poll process. District Magistrates do pass such orders in the interest of maintenance of law and order.

ECImay also like to report the whole matter to the Prime Minister for suitable disciplinary action against the Law Minister for undermining the authority of theCommission during the crucial period of a poll process.

M~bbas Naqvi
M.P. (Rahya Sabha)
National Vice President (BJ.P.)
Incharge Central Elections Management and Co-Ordination
R.Ramakrishna
National Convenor
BJPElection Cell
11, ~~, ~ ~-110001, ~: 011-23005700~: 011-23005787
11,Ashok Road, New Delhi-110 001, Phone: 011-23005700 Fax: 011-23005787