Hastily-Taken Decision, Centre Keen On Circumventing SC's Scrutiny: Cong On CEC's Appointment

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the move goes against 'the spirit of our Constitution'.

New Delhi:Reacting to the centre's decision to appoint Gyanesh Kumar as the Chief Election Commissioner on Monday, the Congress said the hastily-taken decision shows that the government is keen on circumventing the Supreme Court's scrutiny and getting the appointment done before a clear order kicks in.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said, in a hasty midnight move, the government has notified the appointment of the new CEC. "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," Venugopal said in a post on X.

The amended law dealing with the appointment of election commissioners has removed the chief justice of India (CJI) from the CEC selection panel and the government ought to have waited until the apex court's hearing in the matter on Wednesday (February 19) before selecting the officer, 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.

"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," Venugopal said.

He said as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had rightly pointed out, the decision should have been kept aside until the apex court decided the issue in line with the Constitution.