New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday steered clear of a question on last week's shock resignation of Arun Goel as an Election Commissioner - days before the poll panel was to announce Lok Sabha election dates - telling NDTV "... he had personal reasons".
He also rejected talk of an acrimonious departure, calling his former colleague "a very distinguished member of the team" and someone with whom he "enjoyed working".
"Arun Goel was a very distinguished member of the team and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. But, in every institution, everyone must be given personal space, and that should not be touched. He had his reasons, and you should ask him about it," Mr Kumar told NDTV's Sunil Prabha.
"But let me be clear... we have a very sound tradition of not stifling dissent within the four walls of the ECI. This (the planning and conduct of elections) is a very complicated exercise... and three minds are always better than one...," he added.
Last week, when Mr Goel said he was stepping down, sources told NDTV he too had cited "personal reasons", and said the government had persuaded to reconsider.
READ | Why Election Commissioner Arun Goel Resigned Weeks Before 2024 Polls
He also dismissed speculation ill health had forced to resign.
Mr Goel was appointed in November 2022; this was a day after he quit the Indian Administrative Service. The Supreme Court had asked then "what is the tearing hurry?"
He was to have served till 2027; in fact, Mr Goel was in line to replace Rajiv Kumar as the Chief Election Commissioner after the latter retires next year.
After Arun Goel's resignation, Mr Kumar was the only person on the three-member poll panel till two new officers were inducted - ex-civil servants Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. They replaced Mr Goel and Anup Pandey, whose term expired in February.
READ | Lok Sabha Elections From April 19 In 7 Phases, Results On June 4
The Election Commission this afternoon announced the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha Assembly election and for state polls in Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim, as well as bypolls to 26 Assembly constituencies across 13 states.
Polling for all begins on April 19, with the general election spread over seven phases. Results for all elections will be declared on June 4.