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Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM was the only opposition MP to speak against the Bill in the Lok Sabha
Twelve MPs participated in the debate, most of them from the BJP and NDA, and only one from the Opposition. (PTI)
The Opposition has once again questioned the independence of the Election Commissionwith Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar facing fresh criticism over the functioning of the poll panel and the process through which its members are appointed.
The latest controversy erupted after an Indian Express report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on several occasions to decisions taken in the name of the full poll panel. As the row escalated, the EC rejected the report, saying differences and observations are part of institutional deliberations before a final decision is taken.
However, the dispute over the Election Commission’s independence is not new. It goes back to December 2023, when Parliament passed a law changing the way the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are selected.
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And this is where an interesting question comes up—where was the Opposition when the law was passed in the Lok Sabha?
WHY IS THE ELECTION COMMISSION UNDER OPPOSITION ATTACK?
The latest Opposition criticism follows a report by The Indian Express which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months.
According to the report, the two Election Commissioners objected to major decisions allegedly being taken in the name of the full commission without their knowledge. Some of the actions were described as “unauthorised and illegal”.
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi responded by accusing the Election Commission of undermining the electoral process, while Opposition parties called for the Supreme Court to take note of the allegations.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, rejected the claims, saying differing views and observations are a normal part of institutional deliberations and form part of the decision-making process before a final decision, which is taken either by majority or unanimously.
The controversy has nevertheless put renewed focus on the manner in which the CEC and other Election Commissioners are appointed.
HOW ARE THE CEC AND ELECTION COMMISSIONERS SELECTED NOW?
The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 provides for a three-member selection committee.
It comprises:
• The Prime Minister
• The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha
• A Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister
The committee recommends candidates for appointment as the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners and the President formally makes the appointments.
However, the controversial part is the third member of the panel.
The 2023 law replaced the Chief Justice of India with a cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister. That means two of the three members of the selection panel are from the executive—the prime minister and his nominee—while the third is the Leader of Opposition.
WHAT WAS THE SYSTEM BEFORE THE 2023 LAW?
The present system replaced an arrangement put in place by the Supreme Court earlier in 2023.
In Anoop Baranwal vs Union of India, a five-judge Constitution Bench considered a challenge to the process of appointing Election Commissioners. The petition argued that giving the government a decisive role in selecting members of the Election Commission could affect the independence of the poll body.
In March 2023, the Supreme Court directed that until Parliament enacted a law, appointments would be made on the recommendation of a committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of opposition and the Chief Justice of India. The CJI was therefore the third member of the panel instead of a cabinet minister.
The court’s arrangement was expressly intended to operate only until Parliament made its own law.
Parliament subsequently enacted the 2023 legislation, replacing the CJI with a cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister. That change is at the heart of the current constitutional challenge.
WHAT DID THE OPPOSITION SAY ABOUT THE LAW?
Opposition parties did raise objections to the legislation when it was debated in the Rajya Sabha. Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala initiated the debate, while MPs from other opposition parties also questioned the government’s move to replace the CJI with a cabinet minister.
Opposition members accused the government of weakening the independence of the Election Commission and eventually staged a walkout. The Bill was then passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha on December 12, 2023.
The Lok Sabha passed it nine days later. But the circumstances in the lower House were very different.
WHAT HAPPENED IN LOK SABHA?
The answer lies in one of the most turbulent parliamentary sessions of recent years.
On December 13, 2023, two intruders entered the Lok Sabha chamber and released smoke canisters, triggering a major security breach.
Opposition MPs demanded a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah and sought a discussion on the incident. As protests continued, opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament in large numbers.
By December 19, 141 MPs from both Houses had been suspended. On December 21, the day the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, three more Congress MPs were suspended. That took the number of suspended Lok Sabha MPs to 100. Across both Houses, 146 MPs had been suspended during the Winter Session. The Opposition had 142 MPs in the Lok Sabha at the time.
The timing is significant because the Bill was taken up in the Lok Sabha on the very day those final three suspensions took place. It was passed after a discussion of around 1 hour and 40 minutes and by voice vote.
Twelve MPs participated in the debate, most of them from the BJP and NDA. Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM was the only opposition MP to speak against the Bill in the Lok Sabha.
WHERE WAS RAHUL GANDHI?
Rahul Gandhi was not among the 100 opposition MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha when the Bill was passed. Yet, he did not speak during the debate.
At the time, the Opposition’s focus was overwhelmingly on the Parliament security breach, the demand for an explanation from the home minister and the mass suspensions that followed. So, while Gandhi was present in Parliament, he did not record a statement opposing the Bill during the Lok Sabha debate.
Owaisi, meanwhile, did get an opportunity to speak and opposed the legislation.
WHY IS THE 2023 LAW BACK IN THE SUPREME COURT?
The law is now facing a constitutional challenge over the composition of the selection committee. The petitioners have questioned whether Parliament can create a mechanism in which the executive has such a dominant role in choosing the members of the Election Commission.
The matter came up before the Supreme Court again on Wednesday.
A two-judge Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma differed on whether the challenge to the 2023 law should be referred to a Constitution Bench.
Justice Datta held that the existing constitutional principle requiring the Election Commission to be free from exclusive executive control could be applied to the new law. He also flagged the role of the Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister, noting that such a minister is bound by collective responsibility and could therefore be unlikely to oppose the Prime Minister’s position.
Justice Datta said this could leave the Leader of Opposition’s presence on the panel “largely ornamental”. He also examined whether the Election Commission must not only be independent but must be perceived as independent.
Justice Sharma took a different view and said the question of whether Parliament was constitutionally entitled to replace the CJI with a Cabinet minister had not previously been decided by the Supreme Court. The judges therefore sent the matter to the Chief Justice of India for consideration of a larger Bench.
Quick Answers
Ask News18The 2023 law establishes a three-member selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister. This committee recommends candidates, and the President formally makes the appointments.
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Apoorva Misra is an Associate Editor at News18.com with a keen interest in politics and current affairs. She loves uncovering fresh angles and telling stories through long-form features and explainers…Read More
September 24, 2026, 12:03 IST
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