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Against the backdrop of The Indian Express’ investigative report, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the Chief Election Commissioner Act of 2023 should be revisited.
The IE report had, among other things, stated that two Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised 14 objections pertaining to electoral roll revisions over the past 10 months and had disagreed with CEC Gyanesh Kumar on multiple counts.
Issuing a statement on Friday, September 25, YS Jagan said the public needs clarity on what objections were recorded, what action was taken and how transparently the system functioned – be it for adding, deleting or restoring names on electoral rolls.
“The very bill (Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 ) which had our support then, should be revisited now in the current background. The Central government (Ruling Party) should come forward, set the normal in place dispelling this fear,” he added.
The 2023 Act sets the formal legal rules for how top election officials are chosen, paid, and managed in India. Before the 2023 Act, the Supreme Court had ruled that the selection panel to appoint EC members should include the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The 2023 Act changed this to include Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and a Union Cabinet minister, making the appointment of Election Commission officials less neutral.
“An amendment to the bill be brought forward where the election commissioner is appointed by the three member committee which has Leader of Opposition (LoP), Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the Prime Minister as members once again,” Jagan said adding that this move would definitely regain the esteem and the confidence on Election Commission.
Jagan also said that this was important in the backdrop of the SIR process in Andhra Pradesh. “The party in power (referring to the TDP) misused its authority. On many occasions, our appeals went unheard. In the local body election process too, our objections as an Opposition party to the manner in which divisions were redrawn were brushed aside,” he alleged.
