THE UNION HUMAN Resource Development (HRD) minister Arjun Singh hit back at the Election Commission (EC) of India on Sunday by denying categorically its allegation of any breach of model code of conduct. In a five-and-a-half-page explanation to the commission he said, ‘I categorically deny that any time before or on April 5, 2006, or subsequently any announcement has been made in respect of any percentage of reservations in favour of any sections of the society or I have said anything on the matter which is not already in the public domain or which is inconsistent with the all party consensus in Parliament. ’

Singh’s decision drew flak from some quarters. The Election Commission raised questions about the timing of the announcement as it deemed it to be giving concessions to certain sections of the electorate in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Pondicherry. On 9 April the Election Commission sent a letter to the Cabinet Secretariat demanding an explanation in the case. Replying rather aggressively to the commission’s objections Singh said that the reservation of seats for the OBCs is nothing new, since it builds on Article 15(5) of the Constitution, which was inserted in the constitution after the 104th amendment. This amendment received presidential assent on 20 January 2006.