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Congress shares Advani's letter after bill on EC appointments triggers row
Opposition criticizes bill excluding CJI from panel for appointment of election commissioners, Congress shares BJP's 2012 suggestion for collegium.
Amid the Opposition's criticism of a bill that seeks to exclude the chief justice of India (CJI) from a three-member panel for appointment of election commissioners and chief election commissioner, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday shared a 2012 letter by then BJP Parliamentary Party chairperson Lal Krishna Advani to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggesting a broad-based collegium for such appointments.
In the letter, Advani had demanded that the CEC and other members should be appointed by a five member-panel or collegium, comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, leaders of the Opposition in both houses of Parliament and the law minister.
“The present system whereby members of the Election Commission are appointed by the President solely on the advice of the Prime Minister does not evoke confidence among the people,” Advani had written on June 2, 2012.
HT had then reported that the government was set to seek the opinion of all political parties on the matter.
Manmohan Singh later said he was open to changes in the appointment of election commissioners as part of electoral reforms.
While replying to a letter from CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta on reforms, Singh said, “I would like to point out that the procedure for appointment, resignation and removal of chief election commissioner and other election commissioners, as laid down by the government...has been in existence for a long period...Any change in the procedure...would require wide ranging discussions with other political parties. This, if necessary, can be taken up as a part of the agenda for electoral reforms.”
Jairam Ramesh, Congress's in charge of communications, said that the bill brought by the Narendra Modi-led central government “is not only against what Advani proposed but also overturns a 5-judge Constitutional bench judgment” from March 2, 2023.
As per the bill circulated by the government, the selection will be carried out by a three-member panel comprising the prime minister, who will be the chairman, and two members — the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha or the leader of the largest party in the House, and a cabinet minister to be nominated by the PM.
Ramesh said that the bill will ensure executive interference with its 2:1 dominance of the Committee.
"This coming from the Modi government in a election year further cements the view that Mr. Modi wants to ensure control over the Election Commission."
The bill will not come up for discussion and passage in the Monsoon session of Parliament that winds up Friday.
