Congress Leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said said that it is disrespectful and discourteous for the PM and HM to made a midnight decision to select the new CEC.
A day after the President appointed Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Haryana Chief Secretary Dr. Vivek Joshi as Election Commissioner, Congress criticized the move, calling it a “hasty midnight decision” that went “against the spirit of our Constitution” and Supreme Court rulings.
The appointments were made shortly after a meeting of the high-level committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, reportedly urged the government to delay the appointments until the Supreme Court decides on petitions challenging the new process. The court is scheduled to hear the matter on February 19.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said on X the Modi government has violated the Supreme Court order.
"During the meeting of the committee to select the next Election Commissioner, I presented a dissent note to the PM and HM, that stated: The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission free from executive interference is the process of choosing the Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner
By violating the Supreme Court order and removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee, the Modi Government has exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process," Gandhi said.
Gandhi also said that it is disrespectful and discourteous for the PM and HM to made a midnight decision to select the new CEC.
"As the LoP it is my duty to uphold the ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the founding leaders of our nation and hold the government to account. It is both disrespectful and discourteous for the PM and HM to have made a midnight decision to select the new CEC, when the very composition of the committee and the process is being challenged in the Supreme Court and is due to be heard in less than forty-eight hours," Gandhi said.
Congress MP and general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal on X said, “It goes against the spirit of our Constitution, and what has been reiterated by the Supreme Court in many cases – for the electoral process to have sanctity, the CEC must be an impartial stakeholder.”
“The amended law removed the CJI from the CEC selection panel, and the government ought to have waited until the Supreme Court라이브 바카라 hearing on 19th February before selecting the CEC,” he said “Their decision to hastily hold the meeting today and appoint the new EC shows they are keen to circumvent the Supreme Court라이브 바카라 scrutiny and get the appointment done before a clear order kicks in,” Venugopal said.
Venugopal highlighted: “Such egregious behaviour only confirms the doubts that many have expressed about how the ruling regime is destroying the electoral process and bending the rules for its benefit. Be it fake voter lists, schedules favouring the BJP, or concerns around EVM hacking—the government and the CECs it appoints are subject to deep suspicion because of such incidents.”
“As the LOP rightly pointed out, this decision should have been kept aside until the Supreme Court decides the issue in line with the Constitution,” said Venugopal.
About Gyanesh Kumar
Kumar is a retired Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer from the 1998 Kerala cadre. Ahead of his appointment as CEC, Kumar has held roles in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs where he served as secretary, and at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
During his tenure at MHA, Kumar played a key role in the establishment of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust. As per reports, he also played a key role in managing Jammu and Kashmir affairs after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.