NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has ruled by majority opinion that there is no need for an inquiry into a petition seeking Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP for receiving a foreign award. The EC has sent its opinion to President Pratibha Patil for a final decision.
According to sources, the EC, by a 2-1 vote, has reversed Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami’s view that an enquiry was necessary to go into the complaint against Sonia.
Election Commissioners Navin Chawla and S Y Quraishi saw no reason for investigation. If there are differences of opinion among the members of the commission, the majority view prevails.
The Order of Leopold, the second highest civilian award in Belgium, was conferred on Sonia Gandhi in 2006 for helping build a more tolerant society.