Nobody Becomes Election Commissioner Without Political Approach: Akhilesh Yadav

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that nobody becomes an Election Commissioner “without political approach”. “People don’t get appointed there (Election Commission) without political approach. Since I too have been a Chief Minister, I know it,” Yadav said at the NDTV youth conclave here when asked if he trusts the Election Commission’s neutrality. “A list of the proposed names comes (to the appointing authority). So, ultimately, they (appointees) have to pass through a political process. We may say from outside that the commission is neutral, but it does pass through a political arrangement,” the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister added.

Yadav pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a rally in Baghpat less than 24 hours before polling in neighboring Kairana and Noorpur by-polls in Uttar Pradesh in May but the EC did not stop him. He said that the rally could have influenced the voters in the adjacent constituencies.

Speaking about EVMs, Akhilesh Yadav said: “The trust has been breached, and I was the first to flag the issue. We can only request the EC to explain to political parties as to how it restores the EVMs that develop snag.” The Samajwadi Party leader advocated the use of ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) for free and fair elections. “If ballot papers are used, people’s anger would be vented and the trust-deficit with the EVMs will also be healed,” he said.

The Samajwadi Party leader also said that the nation must be “saved from the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)”. “The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is visible. But we have also to fight the one which is invisible. It was the RSS that spread false propaganda on the ground against the Samajwadi Party during the Assembly elections... the RSS creates gulf between different castes and communities,” Yadav said. (IANS)