Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, in a post on X, said that the Union government should have waited till the Supreme Court hearing on the CEC selection panel before making a decision.
Published Feb 18, 2025 | 10:44 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 18, 2025 | 10:44 AM
Gyanesh Kumar. (X)
Synopsis: The Union government, in an extraordinary gazette, announced that the President has approved the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the CEC. However, Congress said that the Union government should have waited till the Supreme Court hearing on the CEC selection panel before making a decision. Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi recorded his dissent in the meeting of the selection committee to pick the CEC and called the composition of the committee lopsided.
The Congress on Tuesday, 18 February, said that the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India goes against the “spirit of our Constitution”.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, in a post on X, said that the Union government should have waited till the Supreme Court hearing on the CEC selection panel before making a decision.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore echoed Venugopal’s words and added that rushing the decision showed their intent to bypass scrutiny.
Late on Monday, the Union government, in an extraordinary gazette, announced that the President has approved the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the CEC and Vivek Joshi (1989 batch IAS), currently Haryana Cheif Secretary, as an Election Commissioner (EC) of the Election Commission of India.
Gyanesh Kumar also became the first CEC to be appointed under the new law on the appointment of election commissioners — Chief Election Commissioner And Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service And Term of Office) Act, 2023.
Meanwhile, The Wire reported that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi recorded his dissent in the meeting of the selection committee to pick the CEC and called the composition of the committee lopsided.
The term of current CEC Rajiv Kumar ends on Tuesday. Ahead of that, a meeting of the selection committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi was held on Monday to pick the next CEC.
Under the new law, the CEC and other election commissioners shall be appointed by the president on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of three members — the prime minister as its chairperson; the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha; and a Union cabinet minister to be nominated by the prime minister.
Venugopal said the amended law removed the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the CEC selection panel, and the government ought to have waited until the Supreme Court’s hearing on 19 February before selecting the CEC.
“Their decision to hastily hold the meeting today and appoint the new EC shows they are keen to circumvent the Supreme Court’s scrutiny and get the appointment done before a clear order kicks in,” Venugopal said.
“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,” he added.
“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,” Venugopal added.
In a hasty midnight move, the Government has notified the appointment of the new Central Election Commissioner. This 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… https://t.co/tCdF8nPd3W
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) February 17, 2025
“The Govt’s hasty midnight appointment of the new CEC undermines the spirit of our Constitution & free elections. As LoP @RahulGandhi rightly said, this should’ve waited for the SC hearing on Feb 19. Rushing it shows their intent to bypass scrutiny. Democracy deserves better,” Tagore said.
The Govt’s hasty midnight appointment of the new CEC undermines the spirit of our Constitution & free elections. As LoP @RahulGandhi rightly said, this should’ve waited for the SC hearing on Feb 19. Rushing it shows their intent to bypass scrutiny. Democracy deserves better. #CEC https://t.co/5oMBcSMun9
— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) February 18, 2025
According to the report by The Wire, the meeting of the selection committee to appoint the CEC lasted 30 minutes. The Union government proposed five names, including that of Gyanesh Kumar, currently an EC.
Rahul Gandhi opposed the composition of the selection committee as lopsided, citing the challenge to law in the Supreme Court.
In the meeting, Modi requested Rahul Gandhi to see the note consisting of the names but the latter refused, once again questioning the composition of the committee itself. Rahul Gandhi’s dissent was recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “Moving or trying to keep the CJI out of the appointment process as an independent entity, the government has made it clear that they only want control but not credibility. And the most important thing for the EC (Election Commission) is credibility.
After the new law was passed, multiple petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, challenging its validity. The petitions also sought to put on hold the appointment of two Election Commissioners in March 2024 under the new Act.
The apex court declined to stay the appointments but agreed to hear the matter. A final judgment on the issue is still pending.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
