How can SEC be Director of 3 PSUs?, asks EAS Sarma

AP State Election Commissioner serving as Director of three PSUs, Governor urged to take corrective action

Visakhapatnam: Former Secretary to the Central government EAS Sarma has urged the Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan to take appropriate action with respect to the appointment of the AP State Election Commissioner to three public sector undertakings in the state so as to ensure there is no conflict of interest.

In a letter addressed to the governor on Friday, he pointed out that the former’s office had appointed Nilam Sahney, till recently the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, as the AP State Election Commissioner. The office of the State Election Commissioner is such that it should remain independent of the State government in all respects so that it may be in a position to discharge its responsibilities in an unbiased, apolitical manner.

---

However, Sahney continued to be a director on the Boards of the three State PSUs –AP State Development Corporation Limited, AP State Financial Services Corporation Ltd., and the Foundation for Leadership, Excellence and Governance, he noted. Observing that Sahney’s tenure on the Board of any of these PSUs would be at the pleasure of the political executive, which raised questions about her independence from the political executive,
especially considering that the State PSUs are nothing but a part of the State under Article 12 of the Constitution.

Dr. Sarma said that this raised questions of independence of the State Election Commissioner from the whims and fancies of the political executive of the State. “This is an untenable situation, as the State Election Commission is a body created in pursuance of Articles 243K & 243ZA of the Constitution and it is envisaged to be an independent body that is expected to supervise elections to Panchayatiraj and municipal bodies in a transparent, unbiased manner. As long as Smt Sahney continues to be a State functionary, the State Election Commission under her supervision may not be in a position to discharge its functions in a manner consistent with the Constitutional provisions,” he opined. He urged the Governor to get the issue examined urgently by an independent legal counsel and take such action that is considered appropriate from the point of view of safeguarding the integrity of the electoral processes.