NEW DELHI: Congress leader and Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised the appointment process of the next chief election commissioner (CEC), calling it “disrespectful and discourteous” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Arjun Ram Meghwal to have made a “midnight decision”.
He objected to the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection panel, arguing that the move undermines the credibility of the Election Commission, especially with a Supreme Court hearing on the matter scheduled within the next 48 hours.
The Centre on Monday appointed Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala cadre IAS officer and former parliamentary affairs secretary, as the new CEC.
The selection panel comprised PM Modi, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union home minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi.
Gandhi, who attended the meeting, expressed his dissent in a post on X and said, “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.”
He further accused the Modi government of violating a Supreme Court order by removing the CJI from the selection panel, calling it a move that “exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process.”
“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 added.
The Congress party, in an official statement on Monday, said that the meeting should have been postponed until the Supreme Court’s final verdict on the composition of the selection panel.
“Today, a meeting related to the election of the chief election commissioner (CEC) was held. The Congress party believes that since the Supreme Court had said that the matter would be heard on February 19 and a decision would be given on what the constitution of the committee should be like. In such a situation, today’s meeting should have been postponed,” the statement read.
Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi also criticised the government, stating that its move to exclude the CJI indicated an attempt to control the Election Commission rather than ensure its credibility.
“Removing or trying to keep the Chief Justice out of the appointment (of CEC) process as an independent entity, the govt has made it clear, they want only control but not credibility. The most important thing for the Election Commission is credibility,” Singhvi said.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier raised the issue in Parliament, questioning the Prime Minister on the decision to remove the CJI from the selection panel.
“The rules have been changed. The election commissioner used to be chosen by the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition and the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice was removed from that committee. This is a question to the Prime Minister, why was the Chief Justice removed from the committee?” he had asked.
His reference was to the chief election commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which altered the composition of the selection panel by excluding the CJI.
The appointment gains significance as current CEC Rajiv Kumar is set to retire on February 18. Following his departure, Gyanesh Kumar will become the senior-most Election Commissioner, with his tenure extending till January 26, 2029.