NEW DELHI: BJP IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya has hit back at the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for submitting a dissent note over the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), calling it "politically motivated" and lacking merit.
“It is an attempt to undermine the constitutional mandate of the elected government through malicious judicial activism. Additionally, it conveniently misreads and misinterprets the Supreme Court’s judgment on the CEC’s appointment, ” Malviya stated in a post on X on Tuesday.
Gandhi, in his dissent note, cited a March 2023 ruling by a five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice K.M. Joseph, which revised the process for appointing members of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Giving reference to the same ruling, Malviya argued, “To determine the original intent of the Constitution’s framers, the Court analyzed the 1949 Constituent Assembly Debates and noted that the phrase ‘subject to the provisions of any law to be made by Parliament’ in Article 324(2) explicitly left the appointment process to Parliament’s discretion.”
Before this ruling, the President appointed the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners solely on the Prime Minister’s recommendation. The appointment process is now governed by the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023, Malviya said further.
Malviya elaborated that under this Act, a search committee led by the Law Minister, along with two senior bureaucrats, shortlists five candidates. This list is then sent to a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, and a Union Cabinet Minister (in this case, the Home Minister). The President appoints the new CEC based on their recommendation.
“The Congress, and the Gandhis in particular, should be the last to sermonize on the appointment of the CEC, given their record of abusing the office, appointing pliant candidates, and later rewarding them with political appointments after stepping down, ” Malviya added.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi questioned the urgency of the appointment, highlighting that the composition of the selection committee is under judicial review.
“The Modi government has exacerbated concerns over the integrity of our electoral process by violating the Supreme Court’s order and removing the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel, ” he wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.
Gandhi, who participated in the selection meeting, submitted a dissent note to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, arguing that an independent Election Commission depends on a transparent selection process, free from executive influence.
The Centre has appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) in a late-night decision. Kumar, a retired IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, replaces Rajiv Kumar following his retirement.