New Delhi: BJP leader L.K. Advani had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to constitute a “broad based collegium” to appoint the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the comptroller and auditor general (CAG), a demand the Congress led-UPA government rejected Sunday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding a new system saying “the present system whereby members to the Election Commission (EC) are appointed by the president, solely on the advice of the prime minister, does not evoke confidence among the people”. He has also suggested a similar procedure for appointing the CAG.
Advani favoured a collegium consisting of prime minister as the chairman, and chief justice of India, law and justice minister and leaders of opposition from both houses of parliament as its members.
“There is a rapidly growing opinion in the country which holds that appointments to constitutional bodies such the EC should be done on a bipartisan basis,” Advani said in the letter.
CEC S.Y. Qureshi’s term ends July 11 while CAG Vinod Rai’s term ends next January.
The Congress led UPA government however rejected the demand as an attempt by the BJP leader to divert attention from his earlier blog.
“There is nothing wrong with the process of selecting the CEC and CAG. This is an attempt to divert attention from his blog,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat said.
Advani, in his blog published Thursday had indirectly slammed party president Nitin Gadkari. (IANS)