A day after the President appointed Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Haryana Chief Secretary Dr Vivek Joshi as Election Commissioner, the Congress on Tuesday termed it a “hasty midnight move” which is “against the spirit of our Constitution” and Supreme Court judgments. The appointments came hours after a meeting of the high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, asked the government to defer the appointment until the Supreme Court decides on pleas challenging the new appointment process. The apex court is scheduled to hear the matter on Wednesday. Congress MP and general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal 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 Court’s 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 Court’s scrutiny and get the appointment done before a clear order kicks in,” Venugopal said in a post on X. “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,” said Venugopal. Gyanesh Kumar will take over as CEC on Wednesday as the incumbent Rajiv Kumar is set to retire on Tuesday. According to sources, in the 30-minute meeting, panels of five names, each shortlisted for the posts of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner, were placed before the committee for consideration. Congress MP and whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore reiterated what Venugopal said and added that the appointment “undermines the spirit of our Constitution & free elections”. “As Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi rightly said, this should have waited for the Supreme Court hearing on February 19. Rushing it shows their intent to bypass scrutiny. Democracy deserves better,” Tagore said.
