Quraishi recounts 2012 meeting Singh threatened suicide

In a forthcoming book, former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi recounts a 2012 meeting where then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed such profound distress over perceived criticism of the Election Commission that he told the official, "I will commit suicide." The anecdote, detailed in Quraishi's book "India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir," highlights Singh's intense personal commitment to the independence and credibility of the constitutional body.

The conversation occurred in January 2012, following a controversy during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election campaign. Then Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid had announced at a rally that if his party came to power, it would increase the quota for Muslims in government jobs from 4.5 percent to 9 percent. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party promptly filed a complaint alleging a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, which prohibits announcing new schemes after the election process has begun.

The Election Commission held hearings over four days, with senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi representing the Congress and Arun Jaitley appearing for the BJP. The proceedings centered on whether Khurshid's remarks...