Congress has criticised the ‘hasty midnight move’ to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), saying this move only confirmed the doubts that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was “destroying” the electoral process and bending rules for its benefits. Congress MP KC Venugopal stated that the CEC appointment should have been put on hold until the Supreme Court ruled on the matter in accordance with the Constitution.
The Congress MP took to social media to criticised the government move to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the new CEC and said, “In a hasty midnight move, the Government has notified the appointment of the new Central Election Commissioner. 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.”
“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.” Also Read | ‘Sunna, sehna humari aadat hai’: CEC Rajiv Kumar’s last presser laced with poetry, a retirement plan
KC Venugopal’s post further read: “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.”
Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was appointed as the next chief election commissioner on Monday, the law ministry said. Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under a new law on the appointment of the members of the Election Commission (EC). His term will run till January 26, 2029, days before the EC is expected to announce the schedule of the next Lok Sabha election.
