Rahul Gandhi: Disagreement over Election Chief Pick

Aakhir Tak – In Shorts

• Rahul Gandhi opposes the government’s decision to appoint the election chief.
• He calls the government’s move disrespectful and discourteous.
• Gandhi was part of the panel that selected the election chief.
• He accuses the government of violating the Supreme Court’s order.
• Congress accuses the government of avoiding Supreme Court scrutiny.

Aakhir Tak – In Depth

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the hasty “midnight decision” of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to appoint the new chief election commissioner (CEC) was “disrespectful” and “discourteous”. Objecting to the appointment of the election commission chief, Rahul Gandhi has critisized the hurriedness of the decision. Sharing his dissent note on X, Gandhi, who was part of the three-member panel to pick the next poll body chief, slammed the Centre for removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee in violation of the Supreme Court order.

In his dissent note, the Congress MP said the hastily-taken decision exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the “integrity of our electoral process”. He argued that the process lacked transparency and undermined the independence of the electoral body. The appointment has drawn criticism from various quarters, raising questions about the government’s commitment to fair and transparent elections. This opposition from Rahul Gandhi underscores the growing concerns about the impartiality of the Election Commission.

“It is both disrespectful and discourteous for the Prime Minister and Home Minister 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,” Gandhi said.

Former IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar was appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner and Haryana Chief Secretary Dr Vivek Joshi as Election Commissioner by the President on Monday night.

The development came hours after the meeting of the Prime Minister-headed high-level committee, where Gandhi had objected to the appointment as the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear a petition on the selection process on Wednesday.

Gyanesh Kumar, who succeeded Rajiv Kumar, became the first CEC to be appointed under the amended law that replaced the Chief Justice with the Home Minister on the selection panel.

The move invited a broadside from Congress, which has accused the government of being keen on “circumventing” the Supreme Court’s scrutiny and getting the appointment done before its verdict.

“Such egregious behaviour only confirms the doubts that many have expressed about how the ruling regime is destroying the electoral process… Be it fake voter lists, or concerns around EVM hacking — the government and the CECs it appoints are subject to deep suspicion because of such incidents,” Venugopal said.

Aakhir Tak – Key Takeaways to Remember

• Rahul Gandhi opposed the government’s decision on the election chief.
• He deemed the government’s decision disrespectful and discourteous.
• Gandhi was a member of the selection panel.
• Congress accused the government of bypassing Supreme Court scrutiny.
• Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as the new CEC.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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