Neither EC nor Kumbh mela responsible for second covid wave: Expert

Speaking to ETV Bharat, political expert Desh Ratan Nigam said that the election commission is not responsible for the second wave of coronavirus in the country. Citing the constitution, he said that there is no provision of putting the election on hold.

New Delhi:The Election Commission- an institution which is responsible for conducting election in the country- has been facing criticism for not stopping political parties from violating the Covid protocol in their rallies.

The Madras high court had observed that the EC was "singularly responsible" for the second wave of Covid-19 and that the poll body's officials could be "booked for murder" for allowing political rallies amid the pandemic.

While speaking to ETV Bharat, political expert Desh Ratan Nigam said that the election commission is not responsible for the second wave of coronavirus in the country. He said that there is "no provision" in the constitution to put elections on hold.

"There is no provision of putting the election on hold. As far as the rallies are concerned, it is impossible to impose covid guidelines on a huge crowd," said Nigam.

He further maintained that the second wave was started from states like Maharashtra and Delhi, where no election was conducted by the commission.

Earlier today, ECI has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court order that lambasted the panel for failure to maintain Covid protocol during poll campaigns.

The plea of the Election Commission is listed for hearing on May 3 before a bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice MR Shah. The Election Commission has said that the appeal is against the "uncalled for, blatantly disparaging and derogatory remarks" made by the Madras High Court.

While maintaining his view over the organisation of the Kumbh Mela, he refused to acknowledge the event as a 'super-spreader'.

Bolstering the efforts made by the Uttarakhand government, he said that the state government had ensured all possible steps to curb the spread of the virus.