Ashok Lavasa skipping EC poll code meetings over dissent tiff: Reports

Two publications reported Lavasa was unhappy over dissent notes not being recorded

Full EC (File) Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra

Two weeks after it was reported there were differences within the Election Commission on giving clean chits to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on poll violations, the dispute appears to be out in the open.

Two prominent national publications reported on Saturday that Ashok Lavasa, one of the two Election Commissioners, had recused himself from attending meetings to discuss violations of the Model Code of Conduct since May 4.

It was reported then that one of the members of the three-member 'full commission' had dissented with the decision to give clean chits to Modi. The full commission comprises Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Lavasa and Sushil Chandra.

The Hindustan Times reported Lavasa was unhappy that 'dissent notes' and 'minority decisions' were not recorded in the Election Commission's orders on clean chits. The Hindustan Times reported the Election Commission had not met to discuss poll code violations since May 4 due to the dispute. The Hindustan Times report claimed Lavasa had sent several reminders to CEC Arora since May 4 on including minority decisions and dissent notes in the orders. Lavasa reportedly suggested sending a notice to Modi in one of the complaints against him.

The Tribune reported Lavasa expressed his dissent with the full commission's clean chit to four complaints against Modi and one against BJP chief Amit Shah. The Tribune claimed Lavasa had written to CEC Arora, saying suppression of minority decisions was in “contravention of the established conventions of multi-member statutory bodies”.