Opposition leaders have said that the resignation of Arun Goel as the election commissioner ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is “deeply concerning”.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Law and Justice stated that Goel’s resignation had been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu.
Goel was one of the three election commissioners. Rajiv Kumar is the current chief election commissioner. The other post of election commissioner was left vacant after Anup Pandey retired in February.
Following the announcement of Goel’s resignation, leaders from Opposition parties raised alarm.
Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale pointed out the changes brought in the process of appointments and service conditions of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners via a new law.
The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Elections Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, passed in December, aims to constitute a selection committee for the appointment of the election commissioners, consisting of the prime minister (as chairperson), the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister.
In a social media post, Gokhale said that the prime minister and a Union cabinet minister being responsible for two appointments in the three-member Election Commission panel ahead of the general election is “very very concerning”.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked why a new election commissioner had not been appointed even after Pandey’s retirement.
“Election Commission or Election omission,” Kharge wrote. “India now has only one Election Commissioner, even as Lok Sabha elections are to be announced in few days. Why?”
He added: “As I have said earlier, if we do not stop the systematic decimation of our independent institutions, our democracy shall be usurped by dictatorship! ECI will now be among the last constitutional institutions to fall.”
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said that there is absolutely “no transparency in how a constitutional institution like the ECI has been functioning and the manner in which the government pressurises them”.
“During the 2019 elections, Mr Ashok Lavasa had dissented against a clean chit to the PM for violating the Model Code of Conduct,” said Venugopal. “Later, he faced relentless inquiries. This attitude shows the regime is hellbent on destroying democratic traditions.”
He was referring to former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, who had disagreed with the decisions of his fellow Election Commissioners with regard to complaints of Model Code of Conduct violations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Venugopal’s party colleague Jairam Ramesh raised three questions after Goel’s resignation.
The government has not specified why Goel stepped down.
Goel was the secretary in the Union heavy industries ministry when he took voluntary retirement on November 18, 2022 before he was to retire on December 31, 2022. However, on November 19, 2022, Murmu appointed him the election commissioner, filling a vacancy.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!