ECI must be like Caesar's wife, above suspicion: Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor stressed the ECI's need for integrity, citing the 'Caesar's wife' analogy amid the CEC's impeachment issue. He also noted TMC's potential role in the INDIA alliance following trends in the West Bengal Assembly elections.

Tharoor on ECI's Integrity

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday drew a historical reference from one of William Shakespeare's most iconic plays, Julius Caesar, quoting "No one should be able to raise any suspicion about the behaviour of Caesar's wife," and said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) must also maintain integrity and professionalism.

Spekaing to ANI, he said that the impeachment issue against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar is not completely settled and has gone up the chain for further consideration. "The impeachment issue is not totally settled because, though it has been rejected by the presiding officers, I believe it has gone up the chain for further consideration. The old line about Caesar's wife. No one should be able to raise any suspicion about the behaviour of Caesar's wife, and the same applies to the Election Commission, because all of us are trusting, in every election, the fate and self-respect of our democracy in the hands of the Election Commission. Their professionalism and integrity are extremely important," he said.

On West Bengal Polls and TMC's Role

Further, speaking on the situation in West Bengal after the latest trends showed the BJP leading the State, he said that it is yet to be seen whether the Trinamool Congress will regroup within the alliance or work nationally with the Congress. He added that TMC has a valuable role to play nationally. "In Bengal, with TMC now having a taste of defeat, whether they will regroup within the alliance and work with us nationally remains to be seen. They have a very strong presence in the Lok Sabha, and their MPs would be great assets in a strongly organised alliance. We saw this during the opposition to the delimitation bill that was brought under the garb of women's reservation by the government. TMC still has a very valuable role to play nationally, and in cooperation with the rest of us, we could have a stronger INDIA alliance," he said.

The remarks came as counting for four States: Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, along with the Union Territory of Puducherry, is underway for the Legislative Assembly elections 2026. (ANI)

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