New Delhi: Former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami on Tuesday ruled out joining politics, saying he has no plans of entering Parliament, and favoured barring of retired CECs from joining politics 10 years from the time they demit office.
"I suppose today you can't enter Parliament unless you are a member of any political party. I don't believe in any party," he said during an interaction with women journalists in new Delhi on Tuesday when asked if he had any future political plans.
"Retired CECs should be debarred by law from joining politics till the next 10 years," he said adding by then "they might be too old".
On autonomy of the EC, he said, "I have suggested that the methodology of appointments have a group which is broad-based and represents the entire political spectrum."
Gopalaswami said though "everybody will get appointed when somebody is in Government", it is absolutely absurd to say that if somebody has appointed you will be obliged to them. "Not necessarily," he stressed.
"In order that even this particular allegation doesn't come, there should be a model like that of the appointment of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner in which they ensure the group consists of people from the Government and the Opposition both," the former CEC added.
He said similar was the case of appointment of the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission which has a wide spectrum of individuals to choose.
Gopalaswami, in fact, said he would pen down his memoirs instead of joining politics.
"I am much relieved now. I have enjoyed my stint in the Election Commission," said the former CEC, a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer of the 1966 batch who took over as Election Commissioner in 2004 and became the CEC in 2006.
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