Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed regret over supporting the 2023 law on election commission appointments, citing bias in the state poll panel and calling for a neutral appointment process. He also accused the ruling Telugu Desam Party of misusing the state machinery.
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, leader of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress, has expressed regret over his support for the 2023 law introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government that changed the process of appointing election commissioners. The change in the appointment process, as stated in the 2023 Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office Act, now allows the head of the poll panel and the two other top members to be appointed based on recommendations from a selection committee comprising the prime minister, a Union Cabinet minister, and the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. This composition gives the government a 2:1 majority over the leader of the Opposition if there is a difference of opinion. Reddy described his party's support for the law as 'a mistake' and argued that appointments of election commissioners at all levels should be 'neutral'. He further stated, 'An examiner cannot be appointed by the student.'
Reddy accused the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, of trying to win elections by misusing the state machinery. He alleged that YSR Congress candidates had their nomination papers snatched, party workers were attacked, kidnapped, and intimidated, and the TDP was involved in arson and filing false cases against YSR Congress workers with police knowledge.
Reddy suggested that if the flaw in the appointment process is repaired, 'then the system can run well.' The law, passed by Parliament in December 2023, replaced an arrangement created by a Supreme Court judgement in March 2023 that had formed a selection committee consisting of the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition, and the chief justice of India. During a hearing in May, the Supreme Court questioned the need for a Union Cabinet minister to be included in the selection panel.
Source:
Scroll.in
