Appoint officers from other State cadres as Chief Electoral officers

Amaravati: Former Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao suggested to the Chief Election Commissioner of India that it would be more appropriate to post officers representing cadres from other States as Chief Electoral officers as their service conditions will be regulated by the Chief Minister of a different State.

This would ensure that the CEOs are not victimised after their retirement, he said. In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner on Wednesday in the backdrop of the AP government’s action against CEO Bhanwar Lal who attained superannuation on Tuesday, Krishna Rao brought the problems faced by the CEOs from the same cadre if the State governments of the day feel the actions of CEOs are not up to their expectations at the time of elections.

“Bhanwar Lal held the post of CEO for seven years and naturally could have rubbed the powers that are on the wrong side,” he said. Krishna Rao alleged that Bhanwar Lal was not given promotion as Special Chief Secretary along with his batch mates since his performance at the time of 2014 did not match the expectations of the political party which was in power at that time.

“Bhanwar Lal, of course, gave enough ground for the AP government to keep him aside since there was an old case regarding occupation of a quarter which he never bothered to get it closed,” he said. Krishna Rao also alleged that in several other cases, government in power would be willing to close the issue and give promotion to the officer concerned.

He said it would be a fit case for the Election Commission to take up with the government concerned and ensure justice is meted out to Bhanwar Lal as no officer who holds the post of CEO should suffer due to his discharging functions as CEO at the time of elections. He also said the Election Commission could face problems in getting officers from the same cadre for the post of CEO if they are victimised post retirement.