We are testing the waters - Election Commission

Above advice

We are testing the waters” a top Election Commission official said of the EC’s statement to the BJP to not field Varun Gandhi. As a choice of phrase, it is odd; as a precedent, it is dangerous. The EC’s legal defence is a little known and never used 1994 order, permitting the EC to withdraw national status to parties that violate the model code of conduct. But this is sophistry: the Supreme Court has unambiguously held that the EC cannot disqualify candidates, or interfere in the party’s right to select them. And for good reason: errant candidates must be given a chance to explain, they must be shown the evidence against them. These are procedural requirements of “natural justice” that are in the realm of the courts. And it is the courts that must

punish Varun, not the EC. The EC’s role ended when it filed an FIR against Varun Gandhi; prudence demanded that they wait for the courts to decide.