Political Firestorm: Amit Shah Recalls Rahul Gandhi's Ordinance Tearing Amidst EC Bill Battle

New Delhi witnessed a fresh political broadside recently as Union Home Minister Amit Shah resurrected a decade-old incident, directly challenging the opposition's moral compass. Shah invoked Rahul Gandhi's dramatic act of publicly tearing an ordinance in 2013, drawing a sharp parallel to the ongoing fierce debate surrounding the new bill concerning the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs).

The Home Minister's pointed remarks came as the Narendra Modi government faces intense scrutiny over a proposed bill that seeks to alter the composition of the panel responsible for appointing India's top election officials.

This bill, which proposes a three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, has been met with vehement protest from opposition parties. They argue that replacing the Chief Justice of India with a Cabinet Minister, as recommended by the Supreme Court earlier this year, would compromise the Election Commission's independence.

Recalling the infamous 2013 episode, Amit Shah questioned, "Where's that morality today?" He referred to Rahul Gandhi's unexpected and public condemnation of an ordinance approved by the then UPA government.

That ordinance was designed to protect convicted lawmakers from immediate disqualification. Gandhi had famously dismissed it as "complete nonsense" and tore a copy of it during a press conference, creating a major political stir and embarrassment for his own party's government.

Shah's strategy is clear: to highlight what the BJP perceives as hypocrisy from the opposition.

He argued that if Rahul Gandhi's action in 2013 was driven by a strong moral conviction against a perceived injustice, then the current opposition's fervent protests against the new EC bill should be viewed through the same lens of consistent moral principles. The implication is that the opposition's stance is politically motivated rather than based on a genuine commitment to electoral integrity.

The backdrop to this exchange is the Supreme Court's March 2023 ruling, which advocated for a neutral selection panel for CEC and ECs to ensure the Election Commission's impartiality.

The court had suggested a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India. However, the government's new bill explicitly replaces the CJI with a Union Cabinet Minister, effectively giving the ruling party a majority in the selection process.

Opposition leaders have strongly condemned the bill, asserting it undermines the autonomy of the Election Commission, a cornerstone of India's democracy.

They fear that a government-dominated selection panel could lead to appointments that favour the ruling dispensation, thereby jeopardizing free and fair elections. Amit Shah's recall of the 2013 incident is a calculated move to deflect these criticisms and turn the tables on the opposition, questioning their track record on democratic principles.

As the debate intensifies, the political arena remains charged, with both sides leveraging past actions and present policies to bolster their arguments.

The question of "morality" in politics, once raised by Rahul Gandhi, has now been skillfully turned back on him and his allies by the ruling party, setting the stage for a dramatic legislative battle.