Code of misconduct

He was censured by the EC for promising 9 per cent sub-quota for minorities within the 27 per cent OBC quota in jobs and education in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. This was a clear violation of the code of conduct. But Khurshid,who is also minority affairs minister,tried to defend the indefensible,claiming that he wasnt speaking as a minister but as a party man; that he was merely repeating what was mentioned in the Congress manifesto. Justifiably,the EC rejected such specious logic the sub-quota isnt mentioned in the manifesto and it was the private secretary to the minister who sent an official note to the district administration asking for Khurshids bandobast. The ECs censure was clear but Khurshid chose to again treat it with contempt when last Friday,at a rally in Farrukhabad,he said he would stick to his line promising a sub-quota even if they the EC hang me.

This did give Khurshid cheers on the cheap but,in the process,demeaned his office and his record. He knows that the EC can do little. The BJPs call that the minister be banned from campaigning may be smart politics but,legally,is dodgy. Also,the candidate Louise Khurshid Salman Khurshids wife,for whom the minister was campaigning,hasnt been accused of violating the code. So the Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishis anguished letter to the president seeking

her immediate and decisive intervention is a call to the government and the party not to further strain the delicate balance between constitutional authorities. Whether Khurshid heeds that call is open to question. For,just weeks ago during the Lokpal debate he took a swipe at the EC underlining that it was his ministry that had administrative control over the institution. Quraishi had then complained to the prime minister who assured him of the ECs functional autonomy. That assurance needs to be repeated and the minister for law and justice should be told where to get off.