<p>The new <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/cec">Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)</a> Gyanesh Kumar has assumed office at a time when the authority and integrity of the Election Commission is under challenge as never before. He also starts his tenure amidst a controversy over his appointment. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, a member of the selection panel, has protested against the government’s “midnight decision” to appoint Gyanesh Kumar. He has said that it was discourteous and disrespectful of the government to take the decision when the process of selection was being challenged in the Supreme Court. The court was set to hear a challenge to the CEC appointment law when the government made the announcement. The Supreme Court had proposed a selection process that also involved the Chief Justice of India (CJI). But the government enacted a law that left out the CJI from the selection panel, making the government’s role in the panel more dominant. The petitions challenging the law that were to be heard by the court on Wednesday have been adjourned for hearing in March.</p>.<p>The government acted in accordance with the existing law, but it could have waited for the court’s view before it took the decision. It could have accommodated the Opposition’s view on how a key constitutional post that is equally important for all parties should be filled, and that would have been seen as an act of grace aligned with democratic values. It should be noted that Rahul Gandhi was not opposing the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar but the process of his appointment. The integrity of the process is especially important at a time when the credibility of the commission has come under serious scrutiny. </p>.Cartoonists hold up the mirror to power, and BJP finds that upsetting.<p>The last few years saw many questions raised about the Election Commission’s decisions, particularly when Rajiv Kumar was at the helm of the commission. Even if issues related to the EVMs and discrepancies in the voters’ lists are dismissed as losers’ complaints, some of the commission’s decisions about polling dates and phases and its failure to take action on violation of the model code of conduct by top ruling party leaders had exposed it to charges of partisanship. The question about the institution’s credibility becomes all the more important against this backdrop.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Elections are the most important exercises of the democratic process. It is the Election Commission’s remit to ensure that they are free and fair and are seen to be so. The commission should be unprejudiced, neutral and independent. It is a diminished body now, and needs mending. Gyanesh Kumar has an opportunity and a challenge before him.</p>
<p>The new <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/cec">Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)</a> Gyanesh Kumar has assumed office at a time when the authority and integrity of the Election Commission is under challenge as never before. He also starts his tenure amidst a controversy over his appointment. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, a member of the selection panel, has protested against the government’s “midnight decision” to appoint Gyanesh Kumar. He has said that it was discourteous and disrespectful of the government to take the decision when the process of selection was being challenged in the Supreme Court. The court was set to hear a challenge to the CEC appointment law when the government made the announcement. The Supreme Court had proposed a selection process that also involved the Chief Justice of India (CJI). But the government enacted a law that left out the CJI from the selection panel, making the government’s role in the panel more dominant. The petitions challenging the law that were to be heard by the court on Wednesday have been adjourned for hearing in March.</p>.<p>The government acted in accordance with the existing law, but it could have waited for the court’s view before it took the decision. It could have accommodated the Opposition’s view on how a key constitutional post that is equally important for all parties should be filled, and that would have been seen as an act of grace aligned with democratic values. It should be noted that Rahul Gandhi was not opposing the appointment of Gyanesh Kumar but the process of his appointment. The integrity of the process is especially important at a time when the credibility of the commission has come under serious scrutiny. </p>.Cartoonists hold up the mirror to power, and BJP finds that upsetting.<p>The last few years saw many questions raised about the Election Commission’s decisions, particularly when Rajiv Kumar was at the helm of the commission. Even if issues related to the EVMs and discrepancies in the voters’ lists are dismissed as losers’ complaints, some of the commission’s decisions about polling dates and phases and its failure to take action on violation of the model code of conduct by top ruling party leaders had exposed it to charges of partisanship. The question about the institution’s credibility becomes all the more important against this backdrop.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Elections are the most important exercises of the democratic process. It is the Election Commission’s remit to ensure that they are free and fair and are seen to be so. The commission should be unprejudiced, neutral and independent. It is a diminished body now, and needs mending. Gyanesh Kumar has an opportunity and a challenge before him.</p>
