Tension between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Government over the formers autonomy has resurfaced,this time over the Law Ministrys objection to the ECI proposal to launch,under its aegis,the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM),an advanced resource centre of research and training in election management. That institute,which the ECI says is meant to globalise its success story,is stuck because the Law Ministry,the administrative ministry under which ECI falls,has objections and is sitting on the proposal. Sources said at a meeting between the ECI and the Law Ministry where Law Minister Salman Khurshid was also present as were the Chief Election Commissioner and his two Commissioners Union Legislative Secretary V K Bhasin objected to the idea of the IIDEM. And in a letter to the CEC on October 11,2011,Khurshid said the Ministry of External Affairs had not taken a final view as to who should set up IIDEM. This was followed by another letter on October 20,2011,from a Law Ministry Additional Secretary,who said it was for the ECI to initiate action on financial matters,including obtaining approval directly from the Ministry of Finance. The same letter said that the Attorney Generals opinion had been sought on whether establishing IIDEM was the ECIs job or the MEAs. On November 24,2011 and December 30,2011,Khurshid,in response to letters from the CEC on the issue,replied that he was having the matter processed. When contacted today,Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said: We dont need the Law Ministry to tell us what kind of training programmes to run and in what manner. It is mischevious on the part of some Law Ministry functionaries to launch a campaign against the ECI. I think some people in the government have still not come to grips with the idea of an independent ECI. They want to treat us as a section of the Law Ministry. This shows their mindset. But the ECI knows how to deal with such elements and do its job. The CEC added,We have been getting reports that some papers are being circulated to the media by some officials of Law Ministry slyly. We request the government to conduct a CBI inquiry. It needs to be seen who is leaking the documents and for what intention. The ECI would be very unhappy if these mischevious efforts lead to misunderstanding between government and ECI. On IIDEM,Quraishi said: It is part of the training division of the ECI. If the Law Ministry has any concerns,they can go to the Cabinet. The MEA clears all our MoUs with foreign entities. The Finance Ministry cleared the funds needed for IIDEM. The Attorney General,whose opinion was sought by the Law Ministry,has no problem with the same. On his part,EC V S Sampath,who will be the next CEC,told The Indian Express that IIDEM the CEC would be the ex-officio chairperson of the IIDEM. There is absolutely no conflict of interest, he said. The institute isnt the only flashpoint. Sometime back,upset with the failure of the government to clear the bills of companies supplying electronic voting machines for over two years,a miffed Quraishi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention. The bills were soon cleared. More recently,Quraishi expressed anguish to the Prime Minister over Khurshids remarks that the ECI was under the control of the government. The PM replied that the UPA Government was committed touphold the functional autonomy that the Constitution guarantees to the ECI.
