CHENNAI: DMK has strongly objected to the Election Commission of India’s appointment of Avinash Kumar as the inspector general of police, intelligence, Chennai, in place of Senthil Velan. DMK treasurer and MP TR Baalu submitted a representation to chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi in this regard.He urged the ECI to withdraw its order dated April 19 appointing Kumar as the IGP intelligence.Baalu, in the representation, said there were no reasons stated in the ECI’s order, and no complaints with tangible materials had been made by any major political party about the working of Senthil Velan. There was no rhyme or reason why he should be transferred from the post, he said.“The post of IG (intelligence) has nothing to do with the conduct of elections. The power of the Election Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution of India is only for the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections. It is not a carte blanche to the commission to exercise all the powers of the govt, just because Tamil Nadu is heading to elections,” he said.He pointed out that the Constitution of India and the Representation of the People Acts, 1950 and 1951, only empower the commission with election-related functions. The Supreme Court of India, in a catena of judgments, declared that the power under Article 324 is only in relation to the conduct of elections.“The IGP Intelligence has no direct role in the process of elections. The Intelligence wing, headed by the DGP (Intelligence), only provides inputs and alerts the home secretary and the DGP for the maintenance of law and order, and the necessary police force required for the conduct of elections are in the hands of the director general of police/ HoPF (head of police force), and the ECI has already appointed a new DGP/ HoPF till the end of elections,” he said.He pointed out that the IGP (Intelligence) handles four branches, each headed by a DIG – special branch, which deals with law and order, public order, organized crime, gangs, drugs, VIP and vital installations, internal security, which deals with terrorism and extremists and the anti-terrorism squad.“In fact, currently, the department is in the middle of several sensitive operations and following credible threats. If the IGP (intelligence) is changed at this juncture, it prejudices the safety and security of Tamil Nadu as the new officer will take some time to acclimatise to the ongoing operations,” he said.“Since the role and responsibilities of the IGP intelligence have nothing to do directly with the conduct of the election, the transfer is, per se, illegal. Further, the spouse of Avinash Kumar is a lawyer appointed to the senior panel counsel of the Union govt for the Madras high court by the BJP govt. Hence, there is apprehension of bias in this appointment,” Baalu reasoned.
