Pavan K Varma set off a controversy just days after the P.M visited Bihar, he questioned the government’s record on tackling hunger and the Election Commission’s avoidance of announcing poll dates for Gujarat.
Mr. Varma, a Rajya Sabha MP who joined the Janata Dal (U) after he retired from the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) tweeted that, “EC (Election Commission of India) must not only be impartial but seen to be so. Why have dates for Gujarat elections not been announced? We need credible answers”. The JD(U) party member was concerned that the election body may have done so to allow the BJP led Gujarat government to announce development projects before the model code of conduct for polls kicks in.
Mr. Varma denied that his tweet had anything to do with any differences with his own party on the alliance with the BJP. Some questions need to be asked which are in the national interest. I believe that we need answers on the non-announcement of poll dates for Gujarat. Last time around (2012) the announcement for both states – Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat – were made on October 3rd and the model code of conduct kicked in.
“Earlier in the year, poll dates for all five states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur — were announced on January 4th. A former election commissioner had said that elections falling within six months of each other should be clubbed together.” He says that he had to ask that question when that law was flaunted this time.
He also dismissed the speculation that his tweet, criticizing the government on India’s rather low position on the Global Hunger Index was also anti-BJP. “India lands up lower than Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, despite the clarification by Minister for Health J.P. Nadda on the change in the index. Then there is a question that needs to be asked whether the development that is being talked about by the government is reaching the poorest of the poor or not. This is, in fact, in line with Nitish Kumar’s own ideological underpinning of “nyaya sangat vikas” or development with social justice,” he said.
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