Despite Salman Khurshid’s retreat on his ongoing row with the Election Commission, his problems seem far from over. While the election watchdog is said to waiting for a formal communication from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — to whom the President had forwarded its complaint — to take a final call on the issue, a petition has been filed in a local court in Farrukhabad against the Law Minister for allegedly stoking communal sentiments by his quota remarks.
Amid speculation that the EC was contemplating putting an end to the controversy following the Law Minister expressing his regret for defying the Constitutional body, sources said the Commission was waiting to hear from the PM on the issue, especially since it had made a formal complaint to the President.
Khurshid is also in trouble since lawyer KK Gupta filed a petition against him in the local court in Farrukhabad, from where the Law Minister’s wife Louise is contesting as a Congress candidate. The lawyer in his petition alleged that the Minister’s statement espousing the cause of reservation to Muslims “even if the EC hangs him” was aimed at ensuring his wife’s victory by fanning communal sentiments.
The court has been urged to take appropriate action against Khurshid under the People’s Representation Act and relevant sections of the IPC. The matter will come up for hearing on February 18.
The BJP also continued to attack the Government on the issue. Insisting that Khurshid’s “apology” letter to the poll panel was not enough, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said: “He should apologise to the nation and to the Election Commission publicly. What he has done is unprecedented.”
Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi has kept the matter alive by saying the Commission was yet to deliberate on this particular issue as it had several other pressing matters to attend, it turns out, Khurshid’s retreat didn’t come about without persuasion by the Congress top brass, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in particular.
Khurshid, who had dared the Election Commission to act against him, was made to eat humble pie as the Congress leadership disapproved of him having a confrontation with the Constitutional body — especially, at a time when the elections are going on. The party was wary of the confrontation costing its electoral prospects dearly.
Though a section of the Congress defended Khurshid’s statement on the ground that it would help in wooing minorities and thereby benefit the party in the Uttar Pradesh elections, Mukherjee and some other senior leaders were against challenging the authority of the Constitutional bodies, according to sources.
Pranab had openly disapproved of Khurshid’s action. He echoed similar views during consultations with the Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue. He reportedly pointed out that defending Khurshid now will open the floodgates for other leaders too to defy Constitutional bodies. It will not only be difficult for the party then to defend them but also create an embarrassing situation for the Congress and the Government, the sources pointed out.
Realising that his position has become “vulnerable”, Khurshid then consulted AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and other leaders, who suggested him the way out of sending a letter of regret to the poll panel.
Khurshid reached Delhi late on Monday night and drafted his letter stating, “I treat this matter as unfortunate and regret the statement...It has never been my intention to transgress the law and undermine the election code of conduct. I have great respect for the Commission and the decisions it takes and has taken....”
The letter was properly vetted by Pranab, Digvijay and other senior Congress leaders and then sent to the EC around midnight.
Amid speculation that the EC was contemplating putting an end to the controversy following the Law Minister expressing his regret for defying the Constitutional body, sources said the Commission was waiting to hear from the PM on the issue, especially since it had made a formal complaint to the President.Khurshid is also in trouble since lawyer KK Gupta filed a petition against him in the local court in Farrukhabad, from where the Law Minister’s wife Louise is contesting as a Congress candidate. The lawyer in his petition alleged that the Minister’s statement espousing the cause of reservation to Muslims “even if the EC hangs him” was aimed at ensuring his wife’s victory by fanning communal sentiments.
The court has been urged to take appropriate action against Khurshid under the People’s Representation Act and relevant sections of the IPC. The matter will come up for hearing on February 18.
The BJP also continued to attack the Government on the issue. Insisting that Khurshid’s “apology” letter to the poll panel was not enough, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said: “He should apologise to the nation and to the Election Commission publicly. What he has done is unprecedented.”
Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi has kept the matter alive by saying the Commission was yet to deliberate on this particular issue as it had several other pressing matters to attend, it turns out, Khurshid’s retreat didn’t come about without persuasion by the Congress top brass, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in particular.
Khurshid, who had dared the Election Commission to act against him, was made to eat humble pie as the Congress leadership disapproved of him having a confrontation with the Constitutional body — especially, at a time when the elections are going on. The party was wary of the confrontation costing its electoral prospects dearly.
Though a section of the Congress defended Khurshid’s statement on the ground that it would help in wooing minorities and thereby benefit the party in the Uttar Pradesh elections, Mukherjee and some other senior leaders were against challenging the authority of the Constitutional bodies, according to sources.
Pranab had openly disapproved of Khurshid’s action. He echoed similar views during consultations with the Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue. He reportedly pointed out that defending Khurshid now will open the floodgates for other leaders too to defy Constitutional bodies. It will not only be difficult for the party then to defend them but also create an embarrassing situation for the Congress and the Government, the sources pointed out.
Realising that his position has become “vulnerable”, Khurshid then consulted AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and other leaders, who suggested him the way out of sending a letter of regret to the poll panel.
Khurshid reached Delhi late on Monday night and drafted his letter stating, “I treat this matter as unfortunate and regret the statement...It has never been my intention to transgress the law and undermine the election code of conduct. I have great respect for the Commission and the decisions it takes and has taken....”
The letter was properly vetted by Pranab, Digvijay and other senior Congress leaders and then sent to the EC around midnight.
