CEC Says, Varun Gandhi Tapes “Not Doctored”
Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami on Saturday said that the BJP Pilibhit candidate Varun Gandhi’s tapes were “definitely not doctored” and added that the content in the said speeches was far more virulent than what was shown on TV, the CEC was speaking to the media ahead of stepping down from office on April 20.
In an interview to various TV channels, Gopalaswami defended the poll panel’s action against the 29-year-old Gandhi and said it was decided that a “strong message” had to be sent over the incident.
“We had watched the entire tape (of the speeches)… it was more virulent,” he was quoted as saying by IANS news agency.
“We felt very strongly. The virulence was such that we had to go beyond what we had set as our limit…,” said Gopalaswami, who as head of the Election Commssion faced flak for allowing the panel to overstep its constitutional liberty while advising the BJP to withdraw Varun Gandhi’s candidature.
Responding to queries on whether the commission felt the tapes were doctored, Gopalaswami said: “The tapes were definitely not doctored.”
He said the three-member panel was “absolutely unanimous” on the decision of sending out a “strong message.”
Speaking on the controversial advisory the panel issued to the BJP, Gopalaswami said: “Issuing an advisory is the duty of the commission. We conveyed our displeasure.”
Without elaborating on his row with his deputy Navin Chawla, who takes over as CEC on Gopalaswami’s superannuation on Monday, the outgoing official said there was no need for further discussions on the issue.
He wished Chawla well for conducting the 2009 general elections.
Dwelling on the steep incline in poll code violations, he said that the media especially TV news channels were helping detect a number of cases.
“The number of television channels has increased. We also go for video tracking (the speeches and activities of the candidates and politicians),” said Gopalaswami.
Gopalaswami lamented that the poll panel had failed to tackle the use of financial muscle in the electoral process.
(IANS Inputs)
