New Delhi:

In a shock transfer weeks earlier than the Lok Sabha polls, Election Commissioner Arun Goel has stop and his resignation has been accepted by the President. The three-member Election Commission of India already had a emptiness and can now be left solely with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. 

Sources had informed NDTV earlier on Saturday that the Lok Sabha election dates are likely to be announced subsequent week, and Mr Goel’s resignation has now put a query mark on that timeline. 

Top officers stated Mr Goel cited private causes whereas resigning, including that the federal government tried to steer him to not stop, however he insisted. On hypothesis that well being was a trigger for the resignation, they stated Mr Goel is in excellent well being. “The government will start the process of appointing other election commissioners,” stated an official. 

Mr Goel, a 1985-batch IAS officer had taken voluntary retirement on November 18, 2022, and was appointed Election Commissioner a day later. This had come up within the Supreme Court, which had requested the federal government what the “tearing hurry” was. 

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“Minister of Law picks up four names from the list of names shortlisted… The file was put up on November 18; moves the same day. Even PM recommends the name on the same day. We don’t want any confrontation, but was this done in any haste? What’s the tearing hurry,” the court docket had requested. 

A petition in opposition to Mr Goel’s appointment was, nevertheless, dismissed by a two-judge bench final yr. The judges had famous {that a} Constitution bench had examined the difficulty however had refused to cancel Mr Goel’s appointment. 

READ | 5 Facts On Election Commissioner Who Quit 3 Years Before End Of His Tenure

Mr Goel’s tenure was until 2027 and he was in line to switch Rajiv Kumar because the Chief Election Commissioner after the latter’s retirement subsequent yr.

‘Very Concerning’

Even earlier than Mr Goel’s resignation, there have been considerations that the Lok Sabha polls have been being held with solely him and Rajiv Kumar within the core physique of the Election Commission of India as a substitute of a three-member panel. The different Election Commissioner, Anup Pandey, had retired final month. 

Trinamool Congress chief Saket Gokhale has termed Mr Goel’s resignation “very very concerning” and identified that the panel to choose Election Commissioners now consists of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

“In a sudden move, Election Commissioner Arun Goel has abruptly resigned. The post of the other EC is vacant… Modi Govt has introduced a new law where Election Commissioners will now be appointed with a majority vote of PM Modi & 1 Minister chosen by him. Ergo, before 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Modi will now appoint 2 out of the 3 Election Commissioners after today’s resignation,” he posted on X.

In a sudden transfer, Election Commissioner Arun Goel has abruptly resigned.

The submit of the opposite EC is vacant.

That leaves the Election Commission now with simply 1 Chief Election Commissioner.

Modi Govt has launched a brand new regulation the place Election Commissioners will now be… pic.twitter.com/bCcPRgDHPr

— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) March 9, 2024

Congress chief KC Venugopal additionally known as the resignation deeply regarding and claimed that “there is absolutely no transparency” in how the Election Commission has been functioning. 

Appointment Process

In a landmark ruling in March final yr, the Supreme Court had directed that Election Commissioners could be appointed by a panel consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India. The bench additionally acknowledged that the order would keep in drive till a regulation was made by Parliament.

The ruling had are available response to petitions searching for a collegium-like system for the appointment of Election Commissioners to make sure transparency. The petitioners had argued that the sooner system, whereby the President appointed the Chief Election Commissioner and two Commissioners for six years on the advice of the Prime Minister, was pushed by the “whims and fancies of the executive”.

In December, nevertheless, the Parliament handed a Bill to switch the Chief Justice of India within the panel with a Union Cabinet minister. The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, was handed at a time when an unprecedented variety of opposition MPs had been suspended.

Several leaders had alleged that the Bill compromised the autonomy of the Election Commission and, due to this fact, went in opposition to the spirit of the Supreme Court judgment. It obtained the President’s assent and the court docket has additionally refused to remain the regulation thus far.