Click to play videoNew Delhi: The Election Commission saw frenetic activity in the last few months, but now that the Assembly polls are done, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) B B Tandon has made a controversial recommendation to the President.
Tandon, who bows out in June, says the next CEC should be chosen by a 7-member committee, unlike in the current scenario, when the ruling party makes the nomination.
"It enhances the credibility of the institution, it enhances credibility of the persons who are appointed," says Tandon.
He says the 7-member committee should consist of the Prime Minister as Chairman, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the leaders of opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha and finally, a Supreme Court judge, nominated by the Chief Justice of India.
The BJP, the principal opposition party has predictably welcomed the recommendation.
"I think there is a lot of merit in Mr Tandon's suggestion, because at the moment, the ruling party has total say in the appointment of Election Commissioners and there have been abuses of this right," says BJP Rajya Sabha MP Balbir K Punj.
Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, however, begs to differ. "The more I look at how they function, the more I admire them, and I'm sure that they will symbolise what democracy really means in the times to come," says Sibal.
The Left parties have called for reforms in the EC, but considering the recent controversy involving Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, even they would welcome the CEC's call to bring in greater transparency in the selection of his successor.
Whether the CEC's recommendations will actually result in a change is debatable, but what's clear is that the EC will continue to evolve.
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