'Have you forgotten how ECs were...?': Dharmendra Pradhan fires back at Rahul Gandhi on CEC row

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his dissent on the appointment of the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), calling his objections an attempt to "create controversy and peddle propaganda".

Pradhan, in a post on X, accused the Congress party of "crushing the Constitution at their convenience" and serving its political interests. He criticized Rahul Gandhi for invoking Babasaheb Ambedkar’s name while questioning the process, stating, "Congress never left an opportunity to ridicule and insult Baba Saheb Ambedkar, yet the Yuvraj of Congress has the audacity to take a grandstand on upholding Baba Saheb’s ideals and that of our founding leaders."

Refuting the Congress leader’s claims, Pradhan stressed that the selection process was conducted under a law passed by Parliament, ensuring transparency. "As a matter of fact, this is the first time that CEC has been appointed by a law passed in Parliament. It is our government that has created a joint system for the appointment of CEC and EC, which includes the LoP," he said. He went on to say that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party were "acting like cry babies even when no rule or law has been broken."

Pradhan's response came after Rahul Gandhi, in a strongly worded dissent note, accused the Modi government of undermining the Election Commission’s independence. Gandhi said the process of selecting the CEC and Election Commissioners should be free from executive interference and accused the government of violating a Supreme Court order that previously mandated the Chief Justice of India as a member of the selection committee.

"The most fundamental aspect of an independent Election Commission free from executive interference is the process of choosing the Election Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner," Rahul Gandhi said. "By violating the Supreme Court order and removing the Chief Justice of India from the committee, the Modi Government has exacerbated the concerns of hundreds of millions of voters over the integrity of our electoral process."

Gandhi also objected to the timing of the decision, stating that the appointment was rushed when the Supreme Court was set to hear a case on the matter in less than 48 hours. "It is both disrespectful and discourteous for the PM and HM to have made a midnight decision to select the new CEC, when the very composition of the committee and the process is being challenged in the Supreme Court and is due to be heard in less than forty-eight hours," he said.

The dissent note also referred to a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that had mandated a selection panel consisting of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India. However, the government subsequently passed a law replacing the Chief Justice with a Union Cabinet Minister, a move Gandhi termed as a "flagrant violation" of the court’s order.

Despite the Congress's objections, the government on Monday appointed Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner. Kumar, a 1988-batch Kerala-cadre IAS officer, previously served in key roles in the Home Ministry, handling crucial assignments, including post-Article 370 changes in Jammu and Kashmir. His tenure as CEC will run until January 2029.

Alongside him, former Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi has been appointed as an Election Commissioner, with a tenure extending until 2031. Kumar’s appointment comes ahead of major state elections, including the Bihar Assembly polls later this year, followed by elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry in 2026.