Lucknow

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged that governments formed during a period when the Election Commission was not functioning impartially were "unconstitutional", and said the alleged interference with the poll panel amounted to "trampling" democracy.

Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the Election Commission was regarded as an impartial institution and was expected to strengthen democracy.

Referring to an Indian Express report about two Election Commissioners recording objections 14 times in 10 months to decisions of the poll panel, he said the development raised questions over "on whose behalf" the Election Commission was functioning.

"This is dangerous for our democracy. This is an attempt to weaken our democracy," he said.

Yadav said the Election Commission was a constitutional body and questioned who was "playing with" such an institution for the purpose of remaining in government.

"What can you imagine now? Would the Election Commission have been fair? Would it have been impartial?" the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister asked.

He said if decisions of the poll panel were being questioned from within the institution itself, it raised serious questions about the functioning of an institution whose basic expectation was impartiality.

The leader of the third largest party in Lok Sabha said the development also had implications for governments formed during this period.

"This means that the governments which have been formed during this period are unconstitutional governments," Yadav said, alleging democracy had been "trampled upon".

Yadav also said the latest revelations had to be viewed in the context of concerns he had raised earlier about the functioning of the Election Commission.

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He alleged that despite the EC being expected to function independently and impartially, its functioning had raised serious doubts about whether citizens could continue to have confidence in it.