On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi strongly opposed the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). The Narendra Modi government comes under fire for changing the selection committee, and he criticizes the “revelation” of the Chief Justice of India from that process.
A member of the selection committee, Rahul Gandhi, had also stressed the need to keep an independent Election Commission free from any kind of executive interference. Gandhi also argued that the election of the Election Commissioner and CEC is a matter of integrity for India’s electoral process and needs to be free from any external pressures from the ruling government.
Rahul Gandhi had written that at the committee meeting, he presented a dissenting note against the issues of mining that had been discussed in the betting scandal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The note further underscored that the Election Commission’s independence is something that has to be protected through the process of choosing the CEC and Election Commissioner. He also said that the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee, as directed by a Supreme Court, was a violation.
Such a move, as Gandhi points out, undermines the trust of the public in the election process and the credibility of the Election Commission. Gandhi, as the Leader of the Opposition, stressed his duty to maintain the principles of the founding leaders of India, who believed the Election Commission should function independently. He said it was his duty to keep the government accountable for any actions that violate the democratic structure of the country.
The debate between the government and Rahul Gandhi over the CEC appointment has become a rather broader point regarding the autonomy of constitutional bodies and their role in the safeguarding of democracy.
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