No Rethink On SEC Appointment: Puducherry CM

Due process must be followed as per Ministry of Home Affairs directive, insists Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi

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Ruling out any rethink on the appointment of former bureaucrat T.M. Balakrishnan as State Election Commissioner (SEC) in the wake of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directing the government to select the SEC in a “transparent” manner, Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy on Wednesday said the MHA, in its order, had not cancelled the appointment. Hence, Mr. Balakrishnan would oversee the upcoming local body polls.

“The incumbent SEC was appointed after the Speaker gave the right to the elected government to appoint the poll officer. MHA has not cancelled the appointment. Moreover, the MHA or Lieutenant Governor have no power to remove an SEC,” he said at a press conference.