As the Congress turns up the heat on the Election Commission, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has reached back decades to hit at the party. At a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, Goyal alleged that the Congress had “bribed” earlier Chief Election Commissioners with Padma awards and political posts, and said a party with that record has little standing to question the poll body today.

The remarks come at a charged moment. The opposition has been protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, with Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” charge at the centre of the campaign.

“Look at their track record”

Goyal’s central argument was that the Congress should look at its own history before pointing fingers. “Congress raises questions about the Election Commission while ignoring its own track record,” he said.

He then listed what he called the party’s record. In his telling, the Congress gave a party ticket to one former election official, made another a Union minister, and appointed two as Governors.

On TN Seshan, who served as Chief Election Commissioner from 1990 to 1996, Goyal said the Congress later fielded him against veteran BJP leader LK Advani, a contest Seshan lost.

On MS Gill, who became CEC in 1996, Goyal was blunter. “A sitting CEC was awarded the Padma Vibhushan,” he said, alleging that it was done to reward his sycophancy. Gill later joined the Congress and became a Union minister. He also referred to the appointment of RK Trivedi as Governor of Gujarat in 1986, and questioned the 2005 appointment of Navin Chawla as an Election Commissioner.

What the record shows

Gill served as CEC from December 1996 to June 2001 and was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2000. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha on a Congress ticket in 2004, three years after retiring, and became a Union minister after the Congress returned to power in 2009. The 2000 award was announced when the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in office.

“Better and more transparent” now

Goyal also defended the way election commissioners are chosen today. He said that in earlier years the government of the day appointed whoever it wanted, and made whoever it desired the chief. The present system, he said, is more transparent and consultative.

He also challenged Rahul Gandhi to answer a list of questions, and accused him of double standards in the way he has attacked the Election Commission.

What comes next

The Congress had not responded to Goyal’s specific allegations at the time of writing. With the SIR exercise and the protests against the CEC far from settled, expect this argument over who has compromised the poll body, and when, to keep running.

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