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Onus is on Varun, says CEC

Kolkata: It is for the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Varun Gandhi, “to prove” that the videotape of him making alleged inflammatory communal remarks “has been doctored.”

“We are not in the business of proving somebody else’s case,” Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami said here on Thursday.

Asked by journalists whether the Election Commission was considering allowing Mr. Gandhi to file his nomination for the coming Lok Sabha elections, he said: “The question of allowing does not arise [now]. It arises when nominations start.”

“We have seen the video that we have got. It is for him [Mr. Gandhi] to prove that it has been doctored,” Mr. Gopalaswami said.

“The video was not prepared by us but by a television channel. He [Mr. Gandhi] has got to prove the point when he says it has been tampered,” he reiterated.

Mr. Gopalaswami and Election Commissioners, Navin Chawla and S.Y. Quraishi, were in the city to review the poll preparedness in West Bengal.

The Election Commission that has also sent notices to the BJP’s national and Uttar Pradesh State presidents on the matter “is awaiting the BJP’s reply,” the Chief Election Commissioner said.

Mr. Gopalaswami reacted strongly to a suggestion from a journalist that the Election Commission is divided on the matter relating to Mr. Gandhi.

Such reports suggesting “a division within the Election Commission are absolutely false and wrong,” he emphasised.

The Election Commission, that will be looking into various complaints made to it in the course of the day by leaders of different political parties, has asked all district authorities to instruct the police “to submit information about cases filed in the last six months and under what sections these cases have been filed,” Mr. Gopalaswami said.

“We have asked the District Magistrates and the Superintendents of Police to carry out activities for unearthing arms,” he added. This is in response to complaints from various political leaders of illegal arms being brought to different areas in view of the polls.

“Extensive video coverage has been ordered for the tracking of candidates and events. The DMs have been told to keep the videotapes in safe custody. Where required digital cameras will be used and 25 per cent of the polling stations will be covered by micro-observers who will submit a separate report to the observer,” he said.

Central paramilitary forces will be made available to ensure a free and fair election. “They will not be on the same scale as in 2006 [when Assembly elections were held in the State] but will be adequate,” Mr. Gopalaswami added.

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