As the country gears up for the national elections, turmoil stirs over the appointment of new Election Commissioners. Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhary has expressed dissatisfaction with the entire appointment process. Choudhary has questioned the practicability of how he was asked to be involved in the appointment.
Initially, a long list of 212 names was provided, allowing only one night before presenting just six the following morning. 'This just happened 10 minutes ago,' laments Choudhary, questioning how names could be so hastily decided upon within such short notice.
Who are the chosen two Commissioners?
In midst of the tussle over the appointment of two new Election Commissioners, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhary has made a significant claim. After a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Law Minister Arjun Meghwal, Choudhary revealed, 'The names of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Sandhu have been set for the new Election Commissioners.'
List of 212 names handed over the night before: Adhir Ranjan
Choudhary stated that he received a list of 212 names just the night before. He claims it's impossible to thoroughly vet and review such a long list in such short time. At the meeting, only 6 out of 212 names were presented by the government. He pointed out five objections regarding the selection process.
Here are Adhir Ranjan Choudhary's five objections:The first objection was concerning a prior meeting scheduled for EC selection which was subsequently cancelled.The second concerned a written request for shortlisting five names.The third was a failure to share names when requested.The fourth issue was that upon arriving from Bengal to Delhi at night, Choudhary was handed the list of 212 names.The fifth was reaching the meeting in the morning only to be presented with six names and instructed to make a choice, leading Choudhary to question the integrity of this process.
Retired from the Ministry of Cooperation
It's noteworthy that Gyanesh Kumar recently retired from the position of Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation. During his tenure, he worked from the inception of the ministry, falling under the supervision of the Home Minister Amit Shah. Earlier, Kumar served as the Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry's Kashmir division, playing a pivotal role during the abrogation of Article 370.
Sukhbir Sandhu, an ex-IAS officer, in July 2021, was appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, replacing Om Prakash. As a 1988 batch IAS officer, Sandhu was on deputation in the Centre as the chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He was appointed by the central government as the Lokayukta Secretary for a year. Notably, Sandhu retired from the Chief Secretary position of the Uttarakhand government on September 30th last year.
