New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in the Prime Minister’s Chamber to discuss the appointment of the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), the Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), and eight Information Commissioners. The meeting lasted for nearly an hour and fifteen minutes. Gandhi submitted a dissent note on all the names proposed by the government for the CIC chief and other members.

Sources said Gandhi voiced strong objections during the meeting, registering his disagreement with the government’s choices in the selection committee. He did not endorse any of the proposed names.

Speaking outside the meeting, Gandhi accused the ruling BJP of turning the Election Commission into a tool for “vote chori.” In a post on X, he raised three questions: why the Chief Justice was removed from the selection committee related to the Election Commission, why the Election Commission was given near-complete legal protection before the 2024 election, and why there was haste to destroy CCTV footage within 45 days. He alleged that the only explanation for these actions is that the Election Commission is being used to facilitate vote manipulation. A day earlier, during a Lok Sabha debate on electoral reforms, Gandhi had claimed that the BJP was undermining the “democracy of India” through electoral malpractice. Referring to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Tenure) Act, 2023, he cautioned that a future Congress government would amend the law retroactively.

Gandhi said Election Commissioners would be held accountable and argued that the 2023 Act must be changed because it grants sweeping powers to them while removing the Chief Justice from the selection committee. Under the 2023 Act, the three-member panel consists of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a Cabinet Minister.

Earlier on Wednesday, Gandhi intensified his criticism of the BJP government on another front, accusing it of politicising the Election Commission (EC). Posting a clip of his Lok Sabha speech on X, he questioned recent amendments to election laws.

The removal of the Chief Justice of India from the EC selection panel.

Granting near-total legal immunity to the EC ahead of the 2024 polls. The decision to destroy CCTV footage within 45 days.

Gandhi asserted that these changes signal an attempt to turn the Election Commission into a “tool for vote chori” or vote theft, raising alarms about the integrity of the upcoming elections.