NEW DELHI: Seeking a hold on the appointment of the CEC till the Supreme Court is seized of the law on its selection, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi told the top collegium that Ambedkar had in the Constituent Assembly warned against executive interference in the affairs of the Election Commission, adding that independence of the watchdog depends on the process of the selection of ECs and the CEC.
Congress called the midnight appointment of CEC as going against the spirit of the Constitution, betraying a keen govt interest to circumvent the SC’s scrutiny and get the appointment done before a clear order kicked in. It said the SC is to hear a challenge to the law on the appointment Wednesday. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said such decisions are the reason why CECs appointed by BJP govt are subject of suspicion among people.
In the meeting on Monday, in which PM Modi and home minister Shah selected Gyanesh Kumar as the new CEC, Rahul said the SC on March 2, 2023, had ruled the CEC and ECs should be selected by a collegium consisting of the PM, the leader of opposition (LOP), and the Chief Justice of India (CJI). He said the SC judgment “reflected the larger concern among hundreds of million of voters over the integrity of our electoral process. This is also reflected in public surveys that show a continuing decline in trust of voters in India’s election process and its institutions.”
In his dissent note submitted to the collegium, Rahul said it was unfortunate the govt bypassed the spirit of the SC judgment by replacing the CJI with a cabinet minister in the collegium. “This is a flagrant violation of the letter and spirit of the SC order,” he said.
Rahul said that since the SC was scheduled to hear a challenge to the composition of the collegium, “it will be disrespectful and discourteous to the institutions as well as to the founding leaders of our nation for this committee to continue with its process of choosing the next CEC.” He sought the meeting to be postponed, calling it the view of Congress.
