Rahul Gandhi criticizes removing the Chief Justice from the selection committee of CEC and election commissioners. Strongly expresses his dissent !
The former Congress president and Leader of Opposition Rae Bareilly MP Rahul Gandhi who is also the member of the CEC selection committee has today criticized prime minister Narendra Modi saying that the government led by him has taken out the name of the chief justice of India from the selection committee of the CEC n two other Election commissioners and also violating the the Supreme Court order this exacerbating the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our voters. It may be recalled that the three member committee headed by the prime minister Narendra Modi, a union minister and LOP Rahul Gandhi had yesterday selected and appointed the 1988 Kerala batch IAS and former Cooperation secretary as the New CEC after his retirement allegedly considered to be linked with the Ram Temple who was also the additional secretary of Home and played a vital role during the abrogation of Article 370 in the context of the J& K. However, Rahul Gandhi has objected to the formation of the said committee of CEC selection after the chief justice was removed from the committee expressing his strongest dissent during its meeting a day before. While putting his dissent note in the meeting leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi had said that 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 said Rahul Gandhi while expressing his strong dissent over the selection of the new CEC. According to the dissent note submitted in the meeting by LOP Rahul Gandhi : While speaking in the constituent assembly in 1949 to discuss the setting up of the new and independent election commission Dr.Baba Saheb Ambedkar warned about executive intervention/ interference in India’s democracy and affairs of the election commission. The most fundamental aspect of the Independent Election Commission free from the executive interference is the process of choosing the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner said Rahul in his dissent note adding that in the judgement of 2 nd March 2023, the Constitutional Bench of the honourable Supreme court has specifically ordered that the appointment of the CEC and the election commissioners should be undertaken by the committee comprising of the prime minister, leader of the opposition and the chief justice of India.
However, unfortunately soon after the Supreme Court order the government of India notified a legislation in August 2023 that bypassed the spirit and the letter of the apex court’s order said LOP Rahul Gandhi . The government’s legislation reconstituted the committee to appoint the CEC and election commissioners to include the prime minister, leader of the opposition and a union minister to be appointed by the PM and removing the chief justice from the selection Committee. This clearly amounts to the flagrant violation of the spirit and letter of the Supreme Court’s order asserted Rahul Gandhi. He added : The government’s order was subsequently challenged by a Public Interest Litigation. The supreme Court has expressed its intention to hear the order on 19 th February less than 48 hours away. The Congress party has urged to defer the appointment if the new CEC till the apex court takes a decision after the hearing of the matter in 19 th February said LOP.
However, the Selection committee preferred to nominate Gyanesh Kumar as the new CEC a day before yesterday.
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. 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.
Meanwhile the ex member of parliament Harikesh Bahadur voicing his concern over the new selection Committee and interference of the Executive in the selection of the CEC wrote on X : Free and fair elections conducted by an autonomous/ independent body is the soul of democracy. That is precisely why the constitution makers conceptualised and created a constitutional institution in the form of Election Commission. But today it appears, as if, the present dispensation is determined to crush and destroy its independence. The only way out to protect the institution of #ElectionCommission is either through judicial intervention or peaceful public movement. #CEC
