Election commissioners appointment bill allegedly dropped from Parliament's agenda
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre has reportedly withdrawn a controversial bill on appointing top election officers from the agenda of the Parliament's ongoing five-day special session. It wasn't reportedly part of the eight bills presented to the opposition during Sunday's all-party meeting, too. Officially called the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, it has been receiving flak since speculations of its amendment surfaced.
Why does this story matter?
This significant development came right before the start of the five-day special session of the Parliament on Monday. On the other hand, the central government has also been facing massive criticism and speculation by the opposition over its decision to call this special session right after the conclusion of the Monsoon Session of Parliament in August.
Know about election commissioners appointment bill
The said bill reportedly proposes to exclude the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the committee to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs). Furthermore, the bill also seeks to set service conditions for these officers on par with that of a cabinet secretary instead of a Supreme Court (SC) judge as it is now.
Recalling SC's previous order on matter
It is also worth recalling that in March, the apex court ruled that the selection panel for the CEC and ECs should consist of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, and the CJI. However, the SC had also stated that this procedure would only be followed until the Parliament passed a law regarding it, as per the news outlet The Hindu.
Concern over election commissioners appointment bill
Regarding the proposed bill, former CEC SY Quraishi said one of its disadvantages was that the selection committee might become one-sided. "This would in no way mean giving veto powers to the leader of the opposition as there is a search committee headed by the cabinet secretary which would give a list of shortlisted names to the selection committee, and those names would have been vetted by the government," he explained, speaking to The Hindu.
Opposition leaders flag issues regarding bill
Opposition party leaders have also voiced their concerns about the bill's potential impact on poll fairness. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the Centre of not obeying the SC's March order and called it "a very dangerous situation." "It is evident that the appointed election commissioners are likely to be loyal to the BJP," he was earlier quoted as saying by IANS in August.
