Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said former bureaucrats Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu have been chosen as election commissioners by the high-powered panel. However, Chowdhury expressed displeasure that the Chief Justice of India is not part of the panel and the procedure has some lacunae.
Talking to presspersons, Chowdhury said the former bureaucrats have been chosen as election commissioners. "They (government) have the majority (in the committee who appoints election commissioner). Earlier, they had given me 212 names, but 10 minutes before the appointment they again gave me just six names,” ANI reported quoting Chowdhury. He added Chief Justice of India should have been part of the selection panel and there was no clarity on how the search committee arrived at these six names.
The six names shortlisted were Utpal Kumar Singh, Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, Gyanesh Kumar, Indevar Pandey, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Sudhir Kumar Gangadhar Rahate, all former bureaucrats.
“I know that the CJI isn't there, the government has made such a law that the CJI doesn't interfere and the central government can choose a favourable name. I am not saying that it's arbitrary but the procedure that is being followed has some lacunae,” Chowdhury said.
The vacancies had come up after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey on February 14 and the sudden resignation of Arun Goel.
-with PTI inputs.
