EC to tell President Kalyan Singh lowered 'prestige of high office' by calling himself as 'BJP karyakarta'

NEW DELHI: Taking the view that Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh had lowered the “prestige of the high office occupied by him” by describing himself as one among BJP ‘karyakartas’ + during a recent interaction with BJP party-workers in Aligarh, Election Commission will write to President R N Kovind to take further measures as he deems appropriate.

This is the second time that EC has found a governor to have violated provisions of the Model Code of Conduct. In 1993, when Himachal governor Gulsher Ahmed was found campaigning for his son Sayeed Ahmed in the constituency from where he was contesting, EC had held it as a model code violation. Ahmed subsequently resigned from the governor’s post.

Singh had last week, while trying to settle an internal feud within BJP over the candidature of Satish Gautam from Aligarh Lok Sabha constituency, told party workers: “Hum sabhi log BJP ke karyakarta hain aur iss naatey se hum zaroor chahengey ki BJP vijayi ho. Sab chahengey ek baar phir kendra mein Modiji pradhan-mantri banein”.

EC had, after taking note of Singh’s reported comments, sought a factual report from the UP chief electoral officer. The transcript reproduced in the CEO’s report received by the Commission confirmed that the Rajasthan Governor had indeed referred to himself as “one among BJP karyakartas”.

EC, after deliberating the matter, concluded that Singh, by making such comments, had lowered the prestige of the high office of governor. Since President of India is the appointing authority for governors, a high constitutional office, EC has chosen to leave any further action in the matter, to discretion of the President, sources in the Commission told TOI.

Read this report in Bengali