New Delhi: The Congress on Monday criticized the Centre for notifying the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), calling it a hasty move to bypass Supreme Court scrutiny.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal alleged that the government acted in a ‘hasty midnight move’ to appoint 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.
He pointed out that the amended law removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel. The government, he said, should have waited for the Supreme Court’s hearing on February 19 before finalizing the appointment.
“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,” he said.
Venugopal accused the government of undermining the electoral process for political gain.
“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,” he added.
He also cited Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s stance on the issue, stating that the appointment should have been delayed until the Supreme Court’s verdict.
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