New Delhi:

Congress leader Adil Ranjan Chaudhry told the media this afternoon that bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Janesh Kumar have been selected for the two vacancies on the top panel of the Election Commission of India Position.

Mr Chaudhry is part of a panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to select two election commissioners to assist Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the polls The establishment is gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Apart from the Prime Minister and Mr Chaudhry, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also present at the meeting.

The Congress leader lashed out at the Center for replacing the Chief Justice of India through selection committees for Union ministers. “The Chief Justice of India should be a member of this committee,” he said, adding that laws introduced last year had reduced the meeting to a mere “formality”. “The government has a majority in the group. What they want will happen.”

The Congress leader said he had received 212 names for review last night. “I had requested for a shortlist so that I could vet the candidates. But I didn’t get that opportunity. I reached Delhi at midnight and had a meeting at noon today. I got 212 names, how could anyone vet so many candidates in one day? ?Then, before the meeting, I got a shortlist of six. Most people supported them, so they chose the candidates they wanted,” he said.

The Congress leader said he had raised objections questioning the electoral process.

Mr Chaudhry also mentioned Arun Goel’s resignation as Election Commissioner, which triggered a controversy. “When Mr Goel was appointed, the Supreme Court had said ‘lightning speed’. He came with lightning speed and left with the speed of numbers,” he said.

Mr. Sandhu and Mr. Kumar are 1988-retired IAS officers. Mr. Sandhu is from Uttarakhand cadre of IAS while Mr. Kumar is from Kerala cadre.

Mr. Sandhu has previously held key government positions, including Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand and Chairman of the National Highways Authority of India. Mr. Kumar had served as secretary in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Cooperation under Amit Shah.