Two Election Commissioners Flagged Work Allocation Order, RTI Shows
What Happened
An RTI disclosure shows the Cabinet Secretariat forwarded letters from Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the DoPT. The July 29 letters alleged that Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg issued a work-allocation order without consulting the commissioners. The Secretariat considered seeking Gyanesh Kumar’s opinion, but noted that the letters were sent by the commissioners in their individual capacities, rather than as a formal communication from the Election Commission of India. It ultimately did not initiate action.
Key Takeaways
The RTI confirms the complaints reached the CEC’s office, but the Cabinet Secretariat stopped short of acting because it viewed intervention based on individual commissioners’ letters as potentially interfering with a constitutional body.