Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora on Saturday tried to downplay reports that there are differences in 3-member election watchdog, saying election commissioners are not “expected to be clones of each other.” “The three members of EC are not expected to be template or clones of each other, there have been so many times in the past when there has been a vast diversion of views as it can, and should be," the CEC said in a statement on election commissioner Ashok Lavasa’s purported letter to him.



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CEC Arora, however, added that the diversion of views between the ECs are not put out in public domain unless the concerned ECs/CECs revealed them in books after completion of their terms.  "But the same largely remained within confines of ECI after demission of office unless appearing much later in a book written by the concerned ECs/CECs. I personally never shied away from a public debate whenever required but there is time for everything," remarked CEC Arora.



It is learnt that Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa decided to skip meetings to decide on violations of the Model Code of Conduct after his "minority decisions were not recorded". Some of his objections were related to the clean chit given by the EC to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in six complaints.


Sources said that at least three letters were written by Lavasa to CEC requesting him to include minority decisions in the final orders of poll panel. The EC consists of the CEC Sunil Arora and two election commissioners - Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. The rules of the EC express preference for a unanimous view, but there is a rule to allow a majority decision too.