A high-level meeting headed by the Prime Minister on Monday was held to decide on the new Chief Election Commissioner who will succeed the incumbent CEC Rajiv Kumar. Kumar will be retiring as CEC on Tuesday. Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Opposition, took part in the meeting and urged the government to delay the appointment until the Supreme Court comes to conclusion on the petitions that are challenging the appointment process of the new CEC. However, Gandhi’s dissent note was not taken into consideration. The SC will be hearing the petitions on Wednesday.
According to The Indian Express report, the panels shortlisted five names and presented them in front of the committee members for their consideration. One of the names that was shortlisted was Gyanesh Kumar, who is the senior-most Election Commissioner after Kumar retires. The report said that Gandhi’s dissent note was included in the meeting. But the final decision on the new CEC and EC posts was anyway taken.
The Selection Committee, led by the Prime Minister, comprises of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Cabinet Minister chosen by the Prime Minister. In this case, it’s Amit Shah, the Home Minister. The new CEC was appointed under a new law: the Chief Election Commissioner And Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
Before there was any parliamentary law for these appointments, the President used to make these appointments based on the Prime Minister’s advice. And usually, the senior-most Election Commissioner would become the new CEC, based on the fact as to they were appointed to the Commission.
Gandhi had earlier this month said in the Parliament that he did not trust the new process of CEC selection. Showing skepticism prior to the meeting, Gandhi had said that he would go but the meeting would have PM Modi, Amit Shah and him. So the panel is anyway divided in a ratio of two to one. “Why am I even going? What is the purpose? I am going to the meeting only to certify what Modiji and Amit Shahji are going to say,” he had said.
Gandhi noted that earlier the panel used to have the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India but the CJI was later removed. He called it a “calculated strategy”.
The new law was created after SC came across a bunch of petitions between 2015 and 2022, questioning the Centre’s exclusive hols over appointing the new Election Commissioners.
The SC had then said that there was never any intention to give exclusive power to anyone. The court then established the new process.