Internal matter of EC: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday refused to comment on the controversy surrounding the Election Commission (EC) and said that reports of rifts in the EC were its internal matter.

"It is an internal matter of the EC and it is not proper to say anything," Prasad told the media. 

According to reports, Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has decided to stay away from the EC meetings related to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) after his dissent on the clean chit given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah went unrecorded. 

Reacting to the reports, BJP ally JD-U spokesperson Ajay Alok said the EC was looking into the issue. "The EC is an independent constitutional body and the government should not put pressure on it and influence its functioning," said Alok. 

Opposition RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari also slammed the government over the development and said it exposed that the EC was not working well and there was some tilt towards the BJP, Modi and Shah. "Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa should approach the Supreme Court in this matter," the RJD leader suggested.  IANS