Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Gyanesh Kumar selected as ECs by Modi-led panel
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New Delhi: Sukhbir Singh Sandhu from Punjab and Gyanesh Kumar formerly of IAS Kerala cadre, have been named as the new Election Commissioners by a selection led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Following the meeting of the panel constituted to select the members, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha and the panel's designated opposition member, spoke to the media. Six names, he added, were taken into consideration while choosing the two election commissioners. Sukhbir Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar were selected as the winners by the majority of panel members.
In expressing his disapproval, Chowdhury brought up issues with the procedure and claimed that he was not informed beforehand about the six short-listed candidates, the News Minute reported. Chowdhury recorded his note of dissent on the eventual selection of the members.
In addition, he questioned the process used to select six names from a pool of more than 200 applicants that were submitted to the search committee led by Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and drew attention to the CJI's absence from the selection panel.
The committee was constituted to cover the vacancies created by Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement in February and Arun Goel's resignation from his position as Election Commissioner on March 9. A plea was submitted to the Supreme Court two days after Arun Goel resigned, asking the court to prevent the Union government from appointing more election officers in advance of the Lok Sabha polls by exercising its newly- vested power.
A new law that removed the Chief Justice of India from the body that chooses chief election commissioners and election commissioners was passed by Parliament in December 2023. The slot of the Chief Justice was filled by a cabinet minister as per the said law. Thus the will of the government, with two out of three being its nominees, is bound to prevail in the selection of the Election Commission that is envisaged to be independent of government's dictates.