Piyush Goyal Targets Congress Over Former Chief Election Commissioners Amid Protests Against Gyanesh Kumar

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday criticised the Congress over its record of dealing with former chief election commissioners, as the opposition party continued demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Goyal accused the Congress of questioning the Election Commission of India (ECI) while overlooking its own past associations with former election officials. “Congress raises questions about the Election Commission while ignoring its own track record. If you look at Rahul Gandhi’s track record: they gave a party ticket to one Election Commissioner, made another a Minister, and appointed two as Governors,” he said at a press conference.

During the briefing, Goyal named four former chief election commissioners—TN Seshan, MS Gill, RK Trivedi and Naveen Chawla—and outlined their subsequent political or public appointments.

“They fielded TN Seshan against LK Advani,” Goyal said. Seshan served as India’s 10th Chief Election Commissioner from 1990 to 1996 and contested the 1999 Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar on a Congress ticket. He lost the contest to BJP leader LK Advani.

Goyal also referred to MS Gill, who served as CEC from 1996 to 2001 and received the Padma Vibhushan in 2000 while still holding the office. Goyal questioned whether the award could have influenced the functioning of the Election Commission, describing it as a possible inducement. Gill joined the Congress after retiring and became a Union minister in 2008.

The minister also raised the appointment of RK Trivedi as Governor of Gujarat in 1986, after his tenure as CEC, which began in 1982. Goyal cited these examples to support his criticism of the Congress’s treatment of former election officials.

His remarks came amid continuing protests against Gyanesh Kumar. The controversy intensified after an Indian Express report last month said election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to the CEC’s unilateral decision-making 14 times over ten months. The ECI denied internal discord and maintained that its decisions were taken unanimously.

Over the past two weeks, demonstrations against Kumar have taken place in Delhi, with police detaining several protesters. On Monday, Rahul Gandhi and 10 other INDIA bloc leaders petitioned the Supreme Court against the Chief Election Commissioner, escalating the political dispute over the functioning of the electoral body.