Rahul slams PM Modi, Shah over 'midnight' CEC appointment, shares dissent note

The government late on Monday (February 19) night appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), hours after the meeting of the prime minister-led selection committee in which the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha asked the government to defer the meeting in view of the Supreme Court hearing in the matter.

Dissent note

"During the meeting of the committee to select the next Election Commissioner, I presented a dissent note to the PM and HM, 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," Rahul said in post on X.

"By violating the Supreme Court order and removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee, the Modi Government has exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process," he also said in the post.

Rahul also shared a dissent note that he had given to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday.

Flagrant violation of SC order: Rahul

In the dissent note, Rahul said while the Supreme Court in March 2023 had mandated that the CEC and Election Commissioners should be picked by a committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the Centre bypassed the order through a legislation in August to replace the CJI with a Union cabinet minister.

“Unfortunately, soon after the Supreme Court order, the government of India notified a legislation in August 2023 that bypassed the spirit and the letter of the Supreme Court’s order. The government legislation reconstituted the committee to appoint the CEC and Election Commissioners to include the prime minister, the leader of Opposition and a Union cabinet minister to be appointed by the prime minister and removing the Chief justice from the committee.”

Also Read: Who is Gyanesh Kumar, India’s new Chief Election Commissioner

This Rahul said was a “flagrant violation of the letter and spirit of the Supreme Court order.”

‘Discourteous move’

In his X post, Rahul said as the Leader of Opposition, it is his duty to uphold the ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the founding leaders of the nation and hold the government to account.

"It is both disrespectful and discourteous for the PM and HM 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 also said.

SC posts hearing to February 19

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would on February 19 take up on "priority basis" the pleas against the appointments of the CEC and election commissioners under the 2023 law.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was informed by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for an NGO, that despite the Constitution bench verdict of 2023 directing selection and appointment of the CEC and ECs through a panel including the Chief Justice of India, the government excluded the CJI and made a "mockery of democracy".

He said, "The matter is listed on February 19 but it is listed as item number 41. The government has appointed the CEC and EC as per 2023 law disregarding the view taken by a constitution bench. Kindly take up on top of the board as the matter requires urgent consideration." Advocate Varun Thakur, appearing for petitioner Jaya Thakur, said three appointments were made by the government under the new law, which was under challenge.

The bench assured Bhushan and other parties that after some urgent listed matters, it would take up the petitions for hearing on February 19.