Rahul Gandhi Hits Out At Modi Shah Over Midnight CEC Appointment

By Fnf Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 18, Feb 2025, 17:32 pm IST | UPDATED: 18, Feb 2025, 17:32 pm IST

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition on Tuesday issued a ‘dissent note’ to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kome Minister Amit Shah questioning the ‘midnight decision’ to appoint a new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). The Congress leader deemed the process against the spirit of the Constitution and free elections.

In a post on social media platform ‘X’, Rahul shared two-paged ‘dissent note’ presented during the meeting of the committee to select the next Election Commissioner—convened late Monday night. After the meeting, 1988 batch IAS Gyanesh Kumar was selected as the new CEC.

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,” Gandhi’s letter read.

Rahul Gandhi criticized the Modi government for violating the Supreme Court order by removing the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee. He said this move has "exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process.

Highlighting his role as Leader of Opposition, he stated, "As the LoP it is my duty to uphold the ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar and the founding leaders of our nation and hold the government to account." He further slammed the timing of the appointment, calling it "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," Rahul added.

Soon after Gyanesh’s appointment, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal had also accused the government of rushing the appointment of the new CEC to bypass Supreme Court scrutiny.

"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," Venugopal said.

He alleged that the government was 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.