Salman Khurshid should apologise to Election Commission: Advani

New Delhi: With the Opposition gunning for Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid over his controversial remarks on the minority quota, senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), L K Advani, today kept up the pressure, saying that the minister should apologise to the Election Commission (EC).

Mr Khurshid has been involved in a bitter war of words with the poll panel in the last few days. The confrontation escalated to new heights after the EC sent a letter to President Pratibha Patil on Saturday, complaining about the minister's "defiant" attitude on his minority quota remarks.

"I congratulate the Election Commission. According to the law, 27% of reservations are there for OBCs. Law minister Salman Khurshid gave a statement which is totally wrong and they (Election Commission) censured him from speaking regarding reservations. Salman Khurshid should apologise to the Election Commission and he should follow what they said," Mr Advani said.

The BJP veteran's comments come after a flurry of reactions from opposition parties including his own party, all of who have criticised Mr Khurshid with the BJP even demanding his dismissal. Even the Congress had sought to distance itself from its minister's controversial comments, maintaining that all its partymen should speak the "law of the land".

But the embattled minister today found support in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who sought to play down the controversy. "These things do happen in elections...people have their own views and we are a democracy, they are free to have their own views...of course, the Election Commission is also free to give their opinion on it and I am sure that the matter will be sorted out between the two parties," she said. (Watch)

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With pressure mounting on him, Mr Khurshid had, late last night, spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to present his side of the story. He reportedly told Dr Singh that there is "no question of defiance and he is ready to accept whatever decision the PM takes." He also dismissed reports of differences with the government over the matter. "There may be different points of view but no differences," said Mr Khurshid.

The meeting came just a day after the President forwarded the EC's letter against Mr Khurshid to the Prime Minister's Office for appropriate action.

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The EC's letter was triggered by Mr Khurshid's statement at an election rally in the Khatakpur locality of Farrukhabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh on Friday where he reiterated his promise for increasing the sub-quota for minorities if the Congress was voted to power, the poll panel's reservations notwithstanding.

"If they want to hang me they can, they can hang me for committing to people for a quota...We will change the fate of the poor, even if we have to go against EC, we will change the fate of the poor. I will then come and stand in front of the court of the people and fight my case. I want to stand in the court of the people and ask, 'isn't it the right of the people'?" Mr Khurshid had said.

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The remarks were immediately followed by strong criticism from the poll panel. In a strongly-worded letter to the President, the EC said, "The Commission is shocked that instead of being remorseful about the violation of the Model Code, that carries the consensus of all political parties and the sanction of the Supreme Court, the Minister has chosen to be defiant and aggressive. This is unprecedented."

Sources in the poll panel said that the EC "took the extreme step" as "its authority was undermined". Sources also added that the "ball is now in the President's court."

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The EC's angry reaction stems from the fact that Mr Khurshid remained defiant despite being censured by it on Thursday over his minority quota remarks. The poll panel had found his statement to be a violation of the model code of conduct for elections, adding that that it expected him not to repeat such violations. (Read)

"We have found the tone and tenor of the Union Minister dismissive and utterly contemptuous about the Commission's lawful direction to him, besides the fact that his action is damaging the level playing field in the election," the EC said in its letter to the President. (Read letter)

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The BJP, meanwhile, was quick to seize upon the opportunity, to corner the Congress in poll season. The party lashed out at Mr Khurshid and the Congress saying the whole controversy is a part of a "scripted conspiracy".

"I have a reason to believe that this is a part of a scripted conspiracy of the congress party to communalise these elections. This move will prove to be utterly counterproductive," senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said. (Watch: Law minister takes delight in breaching the law, says Jaitley)

"The entire Congress is a part of this conspiracy of playing this kind of politics," he added.

Mr. Khurshid, while campaigning for his wife Louise, a Congress candidate from the Farrukhabad constituency, had promised the electorate last month that the party would increase the sub-quota for minorities to nine per cent from the now-promised 4.5 per cent, that would be carved out of the existing 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC).