'Hastily' taken decision: Congress criticises Centre's CEC appointment

The Congress party has strongly opposed the Centre’s decision to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), calling it a “hastily taken decision.” The party has alleged that the BJP-led government was trying to bypass the Supreme Court's scrutiny of the panel that recommended Kumar’s name.

 

“This 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,” Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal wrote on X on Monday night.

 

Venugopal also raised concerns about the recent amendment to the law governing the appointment of election commissioners, which removed the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection panel. He argued that the government should have waited for the Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday (February 19) before making the appointment.

 

 

“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,” he said.

 

Venugopal further claimed that the government’s actions were damaging the electoral process. “Such egregious behaviour shows the ruling regime is destroying the electoral process and bending the rules for its benefit," he said. He also raised concerns about alleged “fake voter lists, schedules favouring the BJP, and concerns around EVM hacking.”

 

He pointed out that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had called for the decision to be put on hold until the Supreme Court ruled on the issue.

 

The announcement of Kumar’s appointment came shortly after the selection panel, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, proposed his name. However, Rahul Gandhi, who is also a member of the selection panel, objected to the timing of the meeting. The meeting, held at the Prime Minister’s Office, was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Gandhi submitted an official dissent note against the decision.

 

Who is Gyanesh Kumar?

 

Gyanesh Kumar, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the 1988 batch of the Kerala cadre, has held key positions in both state and central governments. Notably, he played a significant role in implementing decisions related to the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir while serving in the Union Home Ministry.

 

Kumar earned his BTech in civil engineering from IIT Kanpur before studying Business Finance at ICFAI, India. He later moved to the United States to pursue Environmental Economics at Harvard University before joining the Indian Administrative Service.