Government trying to save Chawla: BJP

New Delhi, Apr 8 (UNI) Accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of being biased and creating extra constitutional roadblocks to remove Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla, the BJP today said the PM and Attorney General K Milon Banerjee were ''acting as extra constitutional authorities'' to save Mr Chawla.

A total of 206 NDA MPs had submitted a petition to President A P J Abdul Kalam last month seeking removal of Mr Chawla on the ground that he had allegedly received MPLAD funds from Congress MPs for an NGO floated by him.

They had said Mr Chawla had lost his impartial character.

Addressing newspersons here, BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned the clean chit given by the Prime Minister and the Attorney General to Mr Chawla, saying only the Chief Electtion Commissioner (CEC) had the authority to give a clean chit their Chawla.

''Giving a clean chit to Mr Chawla was an attempt to prevent the CEC from making recommendations on merit,'' he said.

Mr Prasad said it was for the first time that more than 200 MPs had lodged a petition for removal of a constitutional authority and the government should have taken the matter seriously.

The government was committed to destroy the autonomy and independence of the Election Commission, he added.

While demanding Dr Singh to send the petition against Mr Chawla to the CEC B B Tandon for his recommendations, Mr Prasad said if it was not done immediately, the BJP would again meet the President to seek his intervention in the matter.

UNI KAS AK PC1658