Enjoyed working with Arun Goel, says CEC Rajiv Kumar; explains how ECI functions

CEC Kumar on Saturday announced the polling dates for the Lok Sabha election, held in seven phases beginning April 19

While announcing the dates for the 2024 general elections on Saturday, chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar also addressed the elephant in the room – former election commissioner Arun Goel’s abrupt resignation a week ago.

Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar announcing the schedule of the Lok Sabha polls. (PTI photo)

Watch: 'Dissent Will...': EC Breaks Silence On Arun Goel's Abrupt Exit Before Poll Date Announcement

Kumar said that he enjoyed working with Goel, that everybody should respect the latter’s personal reasons for the resignation, and made it a point to stress that dissent was encouraged in the commission.

“Mr Arun was a very, very distinguished member of our team and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him all the time. But in every institution, somebody will have to be given the personal space and I am sure that the personal space should not be touched and one should not be insensitive to ask personal questions. If he had personal reasons, it is fine, you must respect it,” Kumar said in response to a question.

Goel’s resignation on March 8, which was notified in the gazette on March 9 evening, sparked intrigue. While a detailed explanation has not been given for why he resigned with three years left in his tenure, HT earlier reported that Kumar and Goel disagreed on multiple issues, including the poll body’s order on allotting Shiv Sena’s party name and symbol to the Eknath Shinde faction in 2023.

Kumar said on Saturday the commission has a rich and healthy tradition in which dissent is treated as an important facet of the poll body’s functioning.

“We have a very sound tradition [made by] my predecessors ... in the commission that dissent within the commission is encouraged. Within four walls of EC, the commission room which we call – it is a round room – because it is such a complicated exercise in the world, three minds are always better than one. We discuss, we sleep over issue, we take time, we assimilate,” he said.

Kumar added that those who disagree with you should be kept close to improve the decision-making process.

“This is a tradition in the commission. This has always been happening, and should continue happening.”

After Goel’s resignation, on March 11, former CEC SY Quraishi said that disagreements are common among election commissioners, but they take care not to make them public.

“We decided that even if there is internal disagreement, it must be sorted within the four walls of the commission’s meeting room. Any difference of opinion among the commissioners was not made public because of the controversy it could generate. We used to meet for half-an-hour alone before the officers were called in,” he said on Monday.

Two new ECs were appointed earlier this week -- Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu -- to replace Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey, who retired in February. The new ECs were sitting on either side of Kumar during the Lok Sabha polls announcement.