Thiruvananthapuram: A former Kerala Chief Secretary, Jiji Thomson, has alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had asked him to contest an election on a BJP ticket and offered the possibility of a “Union Ministerial berth if he won”.
Thomson’s claims triggered a sharp political attack from CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam.
Former Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson, who retired from service in 2016, said Kumar made the suggestion during a flight to Delhi when the two were travelling together.
According to Thomson, Kumar asked him whether he would be willing to contest the election on a BJP ticket and said that, if elected, he could become a Union Minister. Kumar also suggested that Thomson join the BJP after his retirement as Chief Secretary, Thomson claimed.
Thomson said he told Kumar that he had no interest in entering electoral politics and rejected the suggestion. He also said he was surprised that such an offer had come from Kumar.
The disclosure assumes significance at a time when Kumar is facing mounting political criticism over the functioning of the Election Commission.
Various parties have demanded his removal and called for protests from September 26 to October 2.
Reacting to Thomson’s disclosure, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam launched a scathing attack on the CEC and demanded his immediate resignation.
Viswam described the alleged offer as “shameless” and said it raised serious questions about Kumar’s political affiliations and his conduct while in government service.
The disclosure, Viswam said, showed the extent to which Kumar was prepared to go for the BJP.
He alleged that Kumar had become an insider of the BJP through the successive positions he had held.
Viswam demanded that Kumar resign immediately from the post of Chief Election Commissioner.
The allegations come amid an escalating political confrontation over the Election Commission.
Viswam had on Friday alleged that the poll panel was functioning as a tool in the hands of the BJP governments and said Left parties had a duty to protest.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, has rejected claims that internal objections raised by other Election Commissioners amounted to institutional dissent, saying that queries, observations and technical suggestions are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body.
The fresh disclosure by Thomson is likely to add another political dimension to the controversy surrounding Kumar.
–IANS
