In a significant revelation that reflects the leadership style of the late prime minister Manmohan Singh, former chief election commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi has said that in 2012, Singh intervened to admonish his Cabinet colleagues for casting aspersions on the Election Commission (EC).The issue arose after EC censured then Union minister Salman Khurshid for promising to increase the quota for Muslims in government jobs from 4.5 to 9 per cent during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election campaign in January 2012.“BJP promptly complained of a violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which stipulates that no new scheme can be announced after the election process has been set in motion and MCC comes into effect. We held hearings for four days. Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented the Congress, while Arun Jaitley appeared for BJP — two formidable legal minds sparring over where a campaign promise ended and an electoral inducement began. Eventually, we censured Khurshid, the strongest action available under Model Code. He was visibly upset, and soon, voices within his party suggested that the commission had become ‘arrogant’ or ‘arbitrary’. Criticism never bothers me; innuendo that chips away at an institution’s credibility does. This kind of loose talk was unacceptable,” Quraishi wrote.Quraishi said he conveyed his concerns to the prime minister’s then press secretary, Harish Khare, and was surprised to receive a phone call from prime minister Singh himself the following day.According to Quraishi, Dr Singh came on the line sounding anxious.“‘Quraishi ji, can I see you urgently?’ The tone suggested he might even come to see me. I replied, ‘Sir, you are the Prime Minister. I’ll come whenever you say.’ We fixed the meeting for 7 pm. When I reached his residence that evening, Dr Singh was waiting at the door. He led me inside and, before we had even settled down, said in a voice filled with genuine anguish, ‘Harish told me what you said. If that is what you think, I will commit suicide,’” Quraishi wrote, quoting the late prime minister.The former CEC said he was deeply shaken by Singh’s reaction, as his remarks had been directed at the prime minister’s Cabinet colleagues, not at Singh himself.Quraishi further recalled what Singh told him during the meeting: “I had absolutely no idea. If I had known, I would have blasted them. If ever you have something to say, just pick up the phone and call me.”The late prime minister then told Quraishi that EC was not just India’s pride but the soul of its democracy, and that if the country lost that soul, it would lose everything.Soon afterwards, the innuendos stopped.“A quiet word had been passed, and nothing more needed to be said. I have met many powerful people in my life, but few who wore power so lightly or felt its weight so deeply. In a profession that rewards a thick skin, Dr Manmohan Singh stood out for his rare sensitivity in the exercise of power,” Quraishi wrote.