The new Chief Election Commissioner of the country, Gyanesh Kumar will take charge on February 19, and on the same day a case related to appointment in the Supreme Court is going to be held.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has alleged violation of the Supreme Court order in the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar. Rahul Gandhi wanted the government to hold the meeting for appointment till the Supreme Court hearing, but the central government did not care about him. Because the term of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is ending on February 18.
This was the first appointment under the new law for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner. According to this law, there is a provision to include a minister and leader of opposition nominated by the Prime Minister, PM in the selection panel. Therefore, this panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office in the South Block. In which Home Minister Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi were present. After Rajiv Kumar, the name of the most senior election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was sent by the panel to President Draupadi Murmu, which he approved the appointment.
This appointment has been done under the new law, and the special thing is that the Supreme Court has accepted the petitions filed for this appointment for hearing, but had already refused before issuing a stay order.
Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner
Separate from the objection of the opposition, the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner has been done in the same way as the tradition is going on. The tradition has been that the most senior Election Commissioner has been made the Chief Election Commissioner. After Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Gyanesh Kumar was the most senior election commissioner – and Dnyanesh Kumar is taking over the next day after Rajiv Kumar retired on February 18.
The special after the appointment is that this is happening for the first time under the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioner Act, 2023. In March 2024, Gyanesh Kumar and SS Sandhu were appointed as Election Commissioner under this law. Both commissioners were appointed after Anoop Chandra Pandey’s retirement and Arun Goyal’s resignation.
This law was also made after the same order of the Supreme Court, which the opposition is having, and this law was also implemented in December 2023. On March 2, 2023, the Supreme Court issued an order to include the Chief Justice or his representative in the panel appointing the Chief Election Commissioner. Later, the government enacted a new law regarding the appointment, in which the Chief Justice was excluded from the panel and made a provision to nominate a Union Minister on behalf of the Prime Minister – and under the same, in the panel besides Modi and Rahul Gandhi. Amit Shah attended.
The new law appointing the Chief Election Commissioner in the Supreme Court has been challenged. And by calling a press conference about the same thing, Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi says, so far the Supreme Court has passed three orders regarding it … and the next hearing is to be held on 19 February. Taking forward Rahul Gandhi’s talk, Singhvi was also demanding the postponement of the meeting, the Congress’ stance on the selection of the Chief Election Commissioner is very clear.
Rahul’s objection is only political!
It is said that Rahul Gandhi had come up before the meeting. Before leaving, Rahul Gandhi also gave an disagreement letter to the panel. In the disagreement letter submitted by the Congress leader, the government has accused the government of violating the order of the Supreme Court. Rahul Gandhi has also shared this letter on his social media handle x.
The order of the Supreme Court, which Rahul Gandhi has cited, is from March, 2023, and the law has been enacted only after that decision. It was made mandatory by the Supreme Court that the selection panel of the Chief Election Commissioner would be the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India, but the law made in the law made, the Chief Justice was not given a place in the panel, and his place. The provision of the Union Minister nominated by the Prime Minister was given.
The Supreme Court had only said that the order would remain until the Parliament makes the law – and when the Parliament enacted the law, the order of the Supreme Court was over, and the Supreme Court was accepted.
If you see, Rahul Gandhi has issued just a blank political statement. The political statement is the political stand of any party, it is not necessary to have any direct connection with the fact or anything. Such political statements are issued every day in the country.
Now if you try to look from Rahul Gandhi’s perspective, then the attitude of the then Central Governments on the Shahbano episode and the SC-ST Act comes to the fore, the same thing is understood about the law appointing the Election Commissioner.
Even in the Shahbano case, the order was issued by the Supreme Court, and the then government overturned it with its constitutional force. Then Rahul Gandhi’s father Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, and the Congress government made a Muslim woman (Protection on Divorce Act), 1986.
And the same work has been done in the case of appointment of Election Commissioners – If you look from Rahul Gandhi’s perspective, then in the Shahbano case, the order of the Supreme Court will be considered a violation, but can it be said?
And is Dnyanesh Kumar’s appointment as Chief Election Commissioner is a violation of the Supreme Court order?