Expressing discontent on the selection process for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that it was “disrespectful and discourteous” on the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to have made a midnight decision to select the new CEC.

His statement came a day after the appointment of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as new CEC with effect from February 19 hours after a crucial meeting of the three-member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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The BJP hit back at Gandhi for his remarks, saying it “is not just politically motivated but also lacks merit”.

Referring to the selection committee’s meeting of which he was also part, Gandhi wrote on X, “During the meeting of the committee to select the next Election Commissioner, I presented a dissent note to the Prime Minister and Home Minister, that stated: The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission free from executive interference is the process of choosing the Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner.”

In an apparent reference to the Chief Election Commissioner and other

Election Commissioners Act 2023 that came into force in December 2023, he claimed that by violating the Supreme Court order and removing the chief justice of India from the committee, the Modi Government exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process.

Notably, under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioner Act, 2023, appointment of the CEC and the elections commissioners are made based on a majority or consensus decision
within the selection committee.

“As the Leader of Opposition it is my duty to uphold the ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the founding leaders of our nation and hold the government to account. It is both ‘disrespectful and discourteous’ for the Prime Minister and Home Minister to have made a midnight decision to select the new CEC, when the very composition of the committee and the process is being challenged in the Supreme Court and is due to be heard in less than forty-eight hours,” he said.

Gandhi, alongside his post, shared a copy of the dissent note that he submitted to the prime minister and the home minister during the meeting.

The dissent note read: “In a judgement on 2nd March, 2023, the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court ordered that the appointment of the CEC and ECs should be undertaken by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India.”

The Congress leader called it unfortunate that soon after the Supreme Court order, the government notified legislation in August 2023 that bypassed the letter and the spirit of the apex court’s order.

“The government legislation reconstituted the committee to appoint the CEC and ECs to include the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister to be appointed by the Prime Minister and removing the Chief Justice from the committee. This is in flagrant violation of the letter and spirit of the Supreme Court order,” he said.

Reacting to Gandhi’s remarks, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya wrote in a post on X, “Rahul Gandhi’s dissent on the appointment of the CEC is not just politically motivated but also lacks 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.”

“The Congress, and the Gandhis in particular, should be the last to sermonise on the appointment of the CEC, given their record of abusing the office, appointing pliant candidates, and later doling out political appointments to incumbents as a reward for their services after stepping down,” he said.