Election Commissioner Rawat recuses himself from AAP cases

New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) After Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener Arvind Kejriwal cast aspersions on his integrity, Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat has recused himself from cases related to the party being heard by the Election Commission (EC).

Kejriwal had in an interview to a newspaper recently said that he found two of the three Election Commissioners as biased due to alleged proximity of one of them to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and of the other to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Rawat is a retired IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre. He retired in December 2013 and was appointed Election Commissioner in 2015.

In his communication to Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi on Wednesday, Rawat reportedly cited the need to uphold the poll panel’s credibility and impartiality as the reason for his decision.

The Election Commission is hearing the case related to 21 AAP legislators allegedly holding office of profit, in which they face possible disqualification.