Congress on Tuesday (Feb 18) raised concerns over the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner, calling it a “hastily-taken decision” taken by the Centre to bypass the Supreme Court's scrutiny.

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Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, a new law on the appointment of the members of the Election Commission (EC).

His term will continue until January 26, 2029, following which the EC is expected to announce the next Lok Sabha election schedule.

Also read | Rahul Gandhi expresses dissent over Chief Election Commissioner’s appointment; ‘disrespectful, discourteous’

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‘Hasty midnight move’

Shortly after the appointment, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said that the decision was a “hasty midnight move” by the government to circumvent the Supreme Court's scrutiny.

“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 wrote on X. “The amended law removed the CJI from the CEC selection panel, and the government ought to have waited until the Supreme Court’s hearing on 19th February before selecting the CEC.”

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“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 said.

Also read | Gyanesh Kumar appointed India’s new Chief Election Commissioner as Rajiv Kumar’s tenure ends

Congress leader Manickam Tagore also reacted to the appointment, saying democracy deserves better.

“The Government’s hasty midnight appointment of the new CEC undermines the spirit of our Constitution and free elections. As LoP Rahul Gandhi rightly said, this should’ve waited for the SC hearing on February 19,” he posted on X. “Rushing it shows their intent to bypass scrutiny. Democracy deserves better.”

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari also condemned the appointment. 

“... The formation of the selection committee for this matter has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The matter has also been accepted for hearing in the Supreme Court. In such a situation, what was the hurry that the appointment was made during this time? ... In a democracy, elections should not only be fair but should also appear to be fair ... This is a contempt of the Supreme Court and the basic spirit of the Constitution,” Tiwari told ANI.

Also read | Who is Gyanesh Kumar, India's newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner?

'Disrespectful and discourteous'

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi strongly criticised the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), calling the process “disrespectful and discourteous.”

“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 wrote.

(With inputs from agencies)