NEW DELHI: Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi has offered a revealing account of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s unwavering commitment to democratic institutions in his forthcoming book, 'India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir', scheduled for release on July 24.
Among the many episodes chronicled in the book, one stands out as a powerful reflection of Singh’s deep respect for the Election Commission of India (ECI) and his belief in its central role in safeguarding Indian democracy.
Recalling the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Quraishi writes that the ECI found itself at the centre of a political controversy after then Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid promised at an election rally that if the Congress returned to power, the reservation quota for Muslims in government jobs would be increased from 4.5% to 9%.
The BJP immediately approached the Commission, alleging that the announcement violated the Model Code of Conduct, which prohibits the announcement of new schemes once the election process is underway.
"The BJP promptly complained of a Model Code violation, which stipulated that no new scheme could be announced after the election process is set in motion and MCC, Model Code of Conduct, kicked in," Quraishi writes.
"We held hearings for four days. Abhishek Manu Singhvi led the Congress side, Arun Jaitley, the BJP, two formidable minds sparring over where a campaign promise ended and an inducement began. Eventually, we censured Khurshid, the strongest action available under the Code," he recalls.
The decision drew criticism from sections of the Congress, with some leaders accusing the Commission of becoming "arrogant or arbitrary".
While criticism itself did not concern him, Quraishi says attempts to undermine the institution did. "Criticism never bothers me; innuendo that chips away at institutional credibility does. This loose talk was not acceptable," Quraishi writes.
According to the former CEC, the matter reached PM Singh through Harish Khare, then the prime minister’s press secretary.
During his annual Eid gathering, Quraishi casually mentioned his concerns to Khare, who asked if he should convey them to the Prime Minister.
"Should I tell the Prime Minister?" Khare asked.
"Yes. That is exactly why I’m telling you," Quraishi replied.
The very next day, Quraishi received an urgent call from the PMO.
"The next day, the RAX (Restricted Access Exchange) phone rang. ‘Prime Minister wants to speak to you urgently’. Moments later, Dr Manmohan Singh came on the line, his voice anxious: ‘Quraishi ji, can I see you urgently?’ The tone suggested he might come to me. I said. ‘Sir, you are the Prime Minister, I’ll come whenever you say.’ We fixed 7 pm," he writes.
What followed left a lasting impression on Quraishi.
He recalls arriving at the prime minister’s residence to find Singh personally waiting to receive him.
"Dr Singh was waiting at the door. He led me in and, before we had even settled, said in a voice that carried genuine anguish: ‘Harish told me what you said. If that is what you think, I will commit suicide.’ I was speechless. My remark was about some ministers’ conduct, not about him," he writes.
The former CEC says Singh made it clear that he had been completely unaware of the comments made by some ministers against the ECI and expressed deep regret over the episode.
"That he could imagine, even for a moment, that I doubted his intentions was unbearable to him. It took a few minutes to calm him. ‘I had absolutely no idea,’ he said. ‘If I had known, I would have blasted them. If ever you have something to say, just pick up the phone and call me’," Quraishi writes.
The conversation concluded with words that, according to Quraishi, have remained etched in his memory ever since.
"Then he (Singh) added something I’ve never forgotten: ‘The Election Commission is not just India’s pride; it is the soul of our democracy. If we lose that, we lose everything.’"
Reflecting on the meeting, Quraishi says it revealed the character of a leader whose respect for constitutional institutions was deeply personal rather than merely rhetorical. "I was left shaken, not by politics, but by encountering a leader for whom constitutional propriety was not a talking point but a lived conviction," he writes.
The book also revisits several defining moments from Quraishi’s tenure as the 17th CEC, including the Commission’s recognition of Punjab’s growing drug crisis during the 2012 elections, an MoU that later drew attention from Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and his account of how television rating systems affected Doordarshan’s advertising revenues.
Quraishi, who served as CEC from July 30, 2010, to June 10, 2012, also recounts the electoral reforms introduced under his leadership, including the creation of the Voter Education Division, the Expenditure Monitoring Division and the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).
