YSR Congress Party chief and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said that democracy could function only when people had complete confidence in constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission, and called for revisiting the process by which Election Commissioners are appointed amid the ongoing row over the poll body and special intensive revision (SIR).
On many occasions, our appeals went unheard. He further claimed, “This is especially important because, during the SIR process in Andhra Pradesh, the party in power misused its authority.
In the local body election process too, our objections as an Opposition party to the manner in which divisions were redrawn were brushed aside,” he said, adding that “such actions undoubtedly weaken public confidence in the electoral process.”
National media reports that two Election Commissioners raised objections on several occasions to decisions, electoral rolls and the management of ECINet have led to serious questions and doubts among the public,” Reddy said on X on Friday. The report has prompted Opposition demands for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal and the halting of the SIR of electoral rolls. “Democracy can stand only when people have complete confidence in constitutional institutions such as the Election Commission. “The Central government (Ruling Party) should come forward, set the normal in place dispelling this fear. An amendment to the bill be brought forward where the election commissioner is appointed by the three-member committee which has Leader of Opposition (LoP), Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the Prime Minister as members once again. Student appointing the examiner is always prone to allegations even though the examiner is thoroughly honest, and it is always better replacing the process with someone neutral.
His remarks come as opposition criticism heightened following an Indian Express report claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to electoral rolls and database access. Responding to the Indian Express report, the Election Commission, in a statement on September 23, said that all orders by the body carry full legal sanction and any queries raised by members at the stage of drafting procedures were standard practice.
Reddy said transparency in a democracy must not only exist but must also be seen to exist, and called for “revisiting” the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, a law he noted his party had supported when it was passed. This move would definitely regain the esteem and the confidence in the Election Commission,” he said.
