MA Baby Meets Arvind Kejriwal; Discusses EC Row, ED Action on Pinarayi
The meeting comes days after Baby wrote to the INDIA bloc and other non-NDA parties seeking a joint discussion on developments following news reports on differences within the poll panel over the SIR exercise
New Delhi: CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby met AAP national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal here on Sunday, as Opposition parties stepped up efforts to coordinate their response to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Election Commission's functioning and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The meeting comes days after Baby wrote to the INDIA bloc and other non-NDA parties seeking a joint discussion on developments following news reports on differences within the poll panel over the SIR exercise. He has since spoken to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who agreed that the situation warranted coordinated action, sources said.
During the meeting, Baby and Kejriwal discussed the Enforcement Directorate's action against CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as well as developments following the publication of The Indian Express report on the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the CPI(M) said in a statement.
Baby highlighted the "extraordinary situation" in which the credibility of the Election Commission and Indian democracy was at stake and stressed the urgent need for coordinated action to defend constitutional values and citizens' right to vote, the party statement said.
Baby also invited Kejriwal to attend protest meetings being organised by the Left Democratic Front in Kerala against what the CPI(M) described as the misuse of Central investigative agencies and attempts to undermine the federal republic.
Baby's outreach to Kejriwal comes ahead of a proposed INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi on September 30.
The proposed meeting is expected to discuss the functioning of the Election Commission, the SIR exercise and the Opposition's course of action, including seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Indian Express report published on September 23 said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on 14 occasions to decisions and orders relating to the SIR exercise.
The Election Commission has said that differing views and observations are a normal part of institutional deliberations and maintained that its orders have legal sanction and follow statutory procedures.
In his September 23 letter to Opposition leaders, Baby referred to The Indian Express reports and said the developments had raised serious concerns about the credibility of the Election Commission and the democratic process. He urged the parties to deliberate with urgency and work together to defend democratic values and citizens' right to vote.
Baby also wrote to parties outside the INDIA bloc, including the Bharat Rashtra Samiti, Aam Aadmi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam and Biju Janata Dal, seeking wider Opposition coordination on the issue.
Opposition parties have demanded Kumar's removal and a halt to the SIR exercise. Left parties are also set to stage nationwide protests over the issue. Opposition parties are also working on a fresh removal notice against the CEC, which is likely to be submitted in both Houses of Parliament after legal vetting.