NEW DELHI, JULY 12: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh once told then Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi, “I will commit suicide,” after the poll panel chief expressed concern over criticism and “loose talk” by some ministers about the Election Commission’s functioning.
The incident has been recalled by Quraishi in his upcoming book India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir, in which he describes Singh as a leader deeply committed to constitutional values and institutional integrity.
According to Quraishi, the conversation took place in 2012 during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections after the Election Commission censured then Law Minister Salman Khurshid over alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct following remarks on increasing job quotas for Muslims.
Quraishi wrote that after the Commission’s action, some voices within the Congress questioned whether the poll body had become “arrogant or arbitrary”. He said his concern was not criticism itself but comments that could undermine the credibility of the Election Commission.
The former CEC recalled that he conveyed his concerns through then Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Harish Khare, following which he received an urgent call from Manmohan Singh seeking a meeting.
During the meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence, Singh reportedly told Quraishi, “Harish told me what you said. If that is what you think, I will commit suicide.” Quraishi said he was shocked as his remarks were directed at the conduct of some ministers and not at Singh personally.
Singh, according to Quraishi, assured him that if he had known about the issue earlier, he would have acted and urged him to directly contact him in future.
The former Prime Minister also emphasised the importance of the Election Commission, saying it was not only India’s pride but “the soul of our democracy” and that losing its credibility would mean losing everything.
Quraishi said the episode left him with the impression of a leader for whom constitutional propriety was not merely a principle but a deeply held conviction. He added that Singh’s sensitivity towards institutions and democratic values stood out throughout his tenure.
