Sunday, May 8 2005 14:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Mired in a controversy over alleged attempts to countermand the Chapra Lok Sabha polls in Bihar last year (2004), the Election Commission today (May 8, 2005) said it was beneath its dignity to respond to such "scurrilous and baseless" allegations.

"The free, fair and impartial manner in which the elections are being conducted in the country, including Bihar, has been seen and widely applauded by the whole country," the full Commission said after an emergency meeting in New Delhi.

The Commission met in the wake of allegations of senior IAS official L V Saptharishi, who was a special observer for the elections in Bihar, that attempts were made by Election Commissioners B B Tandon and N Gopalaswami to countermand the poll in Chapra contested by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo and now Railway Minister Laloo Prasad.

"The Commission considers it beneath its dignity to respond to the scurrilous and baseless allegations made therein, singling out the two Election Commissioners," an EC press note said.

On countermanding of the Chapra poll, the EC said that the full Commission passed a unanimous quasi-judicial order on May 10 last year setting out in detail the reasons for its order.

"The Commission strongly deprecates personal attacks made on the two Election Commissioners and K J Rao, Advisor, and considers such attacks highly reprehensible," the press note said.

The May 10 order countermanding the poll was immediately made public through print and electronic media and put on its website for public scrutiny and was open for judicial review, it added.

Yesterday, Laloo Prasad had demanded immediate resignation of Tandon and Gopalaswamy in the wake of the allegations.

"In view of the serious nature of accusations, the two must resign and the EC reconstituted so that the prestigious of the August organisation is not lowered," Laloo Prasad had said.

He also alleged that the two Commissioners had conspired to prevent him from entering Parliament and said his party would raise the issue in Parliament.

The elections in Chapra was "unanimous", he said it was a judicial order subject to judicial review. "Any aggrieved party could have challenged it in the Supreme Court", he said.

The Commission's "detailed speaking" order was based not only on the two-member EC team headed by Deputy Election Commissioner Ananthkumar but also on various inputs including complaints, representations and Saptharishi report, Tandon said.