Khurshid bows to EC, panel to respond Wednesday

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission will decide on the follow up action against Salman Khurshid on Wednesday, after the Union Law Minister wrote a letter to the EC on his controversial remarks

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission will decide on the follow up action against Salman Khurshid on Wednesday, after the Union Law Minister wrote a letter to the EC on his controversial remarks on the minority sub-quota affair. In the letter written on Monday night, Khurshid said that “he bows to the wisdom of the Commission”, and gave a commitment “to ensure that such an incident doesn’t arise again”. The EC had censured Khurshid for his remarks that “his party, if voted to power in the state, would carve out a 9 per cent minority sub quota out of the total 27 per cent OBC reservation”.

The Congress, too, didn’t approve of the remarks, with party bigwigs saying that people in responsible positions “should talk responsibly”. “I treat this matter as unfortunate and regret the statement... It has never been my intention to transgress the law and undermine the election code of conduct... I have great respect for the Commission and the decisions it takes, and has taken..,” Khurshid said in his letter.

The letter was drafted at a late-night meeting attended by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of State in PMO V V Narayanasamy and political secretary to Congress president, Ahmed Patel.

While it was thought that the reconciliatory letter, expressing Khurshid’s regret, would put a lid on the matter, the EC indicated on Tuesday that the last word on the matter has not been said yet. “The Commission has been busy with other important things,” said Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, when asked about Khurshid’s letter.

Election Commissioner H S Brahma, however, told ‘Express’: “We will decide on the next course of action in the Khurshid matter tomorrow (on Wednesday)”.

Khurshid, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that the spat with the Election Commission was “a closed chapter now”.

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