India News | PM Modi-led Panel Finalises Name of Next CEC
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which met here this evening is learnt to have recommended the name of the next chief election commissioner to President Droupadi Murmu, sources said on Monday.
New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) The selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi which met here this evening is learnt to have recommended the name of the next chief election commissioner to President Droupadi Murmu, sources said on Monday.
Besides Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi are part of the panel which met here.
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Sources in the government said the notification announcing the name of the next CEC could be issued "in the next few hours".
Incumbent CEC Rajiv Kumar demits office on Tuesday on attaining the age of 65 years.
In a related development, the Congress on Monday asked the government to adjourn the meeting to select the new chief election commissioner until the Supreme Court hears on February 19 a petition on the constitution of the selection panel.
The Congress' statement came soon after a meeting of the three-member selection committee.
Addressing a joint press conference soon after the meeting, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that by removing the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee, the government has made it clear it wants control and not preserve the credibility of the Election Commission.
Singhvi did not disclose anything on what transpired in the meeting apart from saying that Gandhi attended it.
Singhvi said the case challenging the new act to appoint the CEC and other ECs is currently pending before the Supreme Court, which has issued a notice, and the matter is now listed for next hearing on February 19.
It was just a matter of 48 hours and the government should have approached the apex court for an early hearing of the petition, he said.
"It is our suggestion that the Central government adjourn this meeting until after the hearing and instruct its counsels to appear and assist the court so that the hearing may be an effective one. Only then, can a decision be taken in earnest," Singhvi said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)