BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has defended the law governing appointments to the Election Commission of India amid the ongoing ECI controversy, saying it was enacted after the Supreme Court raised questions about the appointment process.
Speaking in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, Singh said there had previously been no formal procedure for appointing an Election Commissioner. He described that period as a “Hitler-like dictatorship”, using the phrase while criticising the earlier system.
What Singh said about the appointment process
Singh said a case reached the Supreme Court around 2023, prompting the court to ask how Election Commissioners were appointed. He said Parliament subsequently made a law after the Supreme Court's directions.
According to Singh's explanation, the law created a committee involving the country's Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a third member nominated by the Prime Minister. He added that the legislation has been challenged in the Supreme Court but has not been annulled.
The remarks present Singh's account of the legal and institutional dispute. The source material does not include a court ruling on the challenge or any further details about its current status.
Questions over earlier appointments
Singh also questioned the process used to appoint Naveen Chawla and MS Gill. He asked how their appointments had been made while arguing that objections began after 2014.
He linked the criticism to what he described as the weakening of political “fortresses”, saying the issue had become more prominent as those strongholds began to fall one by one.
Singh further referred to elections conducted before electronic voting machines were used. He said the election process and EVMs were considered acceptable earlier, but that concerns were now emerging as political strongholds weakened.
His comments combine a defence of the current appointment law with criticism of those questioning the Election Commission process. The source does not provide responses from the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, the Leader of the Opposition or the people Singh named.
Conclusion
Singh defended the Election Commission appointment law as a Parliament-enacted measure that followed Supreme Court directions, while raising questions about earlier appointments and criticism that intensified after 2014.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What did Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh discuss?
He discussed the Election Commission appointment process and the controversy surrounding it.
Q. Where did Singh make the remarks?
He made the remarks in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh.
Q. What happened around 2023, according to Singh?
He said a case reached the Supreme Court, which asked about the procedure for appointing an Election Commissioner.
Q. Who are the members Singh identified for the appointment committee?
He identified the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a third member nominated by the Prime Minister.
Q. Which earlier appointments did Singh question?
He questioned how Naveen Chawla and MS Gill were appointed.
