Cong cites Advani letter to oppose Bill to keep CJI out of CEC selection panel
In a letter in 2012, Advani said the system of the President appointing ECI members solely on the Prime Minister’s advice does not evoke confidence among the people
The Congress on Friday reiterated its opposition to a proposed law for the Chief Justice of India (CJI)’s exclusion from the panel to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs), citing veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani’s 2012 letter to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for appointments to Constitutional bodies on a bipartisan basis.
In a tweet, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited Advani’s reference to “a rapidly growing opinion” that appointments to Constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission of India (ECI) should be done on a bipartisan basis “to remove any impression of bias or lack of transparency and fairness.”
Ramesh wrote these were not the comments of a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but an excerpt from the second paragraph of Advani’s letter to Singh available on the BJP’s website.
Advani proposed a committee comprising the CJI and leaders of the Opposition from both Houses of Parliament to select the CEC and the ECs.
The government on Thursday tabled in the Rajya Sabha the proposed law months after the Supreme Court in March sought to divest the executive of the absolute power to appoint the CEC and ECs by including CJI as a member of the selection panel.
Ramesh said the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill is not only against what Advani proposed but also overturns a five-judge constitution bench judgment in March.
He cited the court’s order for insulating the offices of CEC and ECs from executive interference to allow independence in the functioning of the ECI as a Constitutional body. Ramesh added the bill in its current form will ensure executive interference with its 2:1 dominance of the committee. “This coming from the Modi government in an election year further cements the view that Mr. Modi wants to ensure control over the Election Commission.”
In his letter to Singh, Advani called appointments to Constitutional bodies an important subject “agitating the minds of all those in India who wish to see progressive reforms in our electoral and governance.” He referred to the impending vacancy in the ECI with CEC S Y Qureshi’s retirement that month and said how it will be filled has generated both interest and concern in equal measure.
“The people of India wish to see that only persons with competence, integrity, and an impeccable record of service get appointed to these crucial bodies, whose functioning greatly determines the quality of governance.” Advani said the system of the President appointing members to the ECI solely on the Prime Minister’s advice does not evoke confidence among the people.
“Keeping these important decisions as the exclusive preserve of the ruling party renders the selection process vulnerable to manipulation and partisanship.” Advani added the credibility of the system was “severely dented” when a dubious appointment to the crucial office of CEC was made a few years ago. “The time has, therefore, come to reform the selection process for the EC and other Constitutional bodies...”
Advani wrote the change with respect to the Central Vigilance Commission and the Central Information Commission came because of the intervention of the Supreme Court. “Let the wholesome change come this time as a result of an initiative taken by the Executive.”
Advani said even the Manmohan Singh government-appointed Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) recommended in its 2009 report that the CEC and ECs be appointed by a collegium. “Significantly, this recommendation appeared in ARC’s report on ‘Ethics in Governance’,” wrote Advani. He urged Singh in this context that the new member of the ECI be appointed by a broad-based collegium. “Towards this end, Article 324 of the Constitution which deals with the Election Commission of India should be suitably amended. The phrasing of Article 324 (2) shows that this would not need any Constitutional Amendment and can be done by an ordinary enactment.”
In March this year, the Supreme Court revamped the selection mechanism for appointments of CEC and ECs. The court ruled a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), and the CJI, shall appoint CEC and ECs until Parliament brings a law. It underlined the independence of the ECI requires a collegium. The court said that the purity of the election process must be maintained to preserve democracy or else it would lead to disastrous consequences.
The constitution bench said the CJI’s presence can usher in impartiality to a selection process when all governments want “yes men in the poll panel”. The government called it a “fallacious” and “constitutionally impermissible” suggestion that the executive cannot make an honest selection without the help of the judiciary.
The court lamented that successive governments have “completely destroyed” the independence of ECI by ensuring no CEC gets the full six-year term since 1996.
The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill says the panel for appointments of CEC and ECs shall comprise the Prime Minister, LoP in the Lok Sabha, and a Cabinet minister.
The ECI is a three-member body with a CEC and two ECs. Under Constitution Article 324(2), the President is empowered to appoint the CEC and ECs. This provision stipulates the President, who acts on the aid and advice of the Prime Minister and the council of ministers, will make the appointments “subject to the provisions of any law made on that behalf by Parliament”.
With no such law having been framed, the PM and the council of ministers appointed CEC and ECs under the President’s seal.
