The newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday took charge of the office. He will be charing the Election Commission with two other Election Commissioners. After assuming charge as CEC, Kumar sent a message to the voters of the nation.
In his message, CEC Kumar said that the first step for nation-building is voting and every citizen of India who has completed 18 Yrs of age should become an elector and should always vote. He added that by the Constitution of India, Electoral Laws, Rules and Instructions issued therein, the Election Commission was, is and will always be with the voters: Election Commission of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led panel recommended Kumar's name and he was appointed as the new CEC on February 17 following a presidential order. He is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law on the appointment of Election Commissioner. He has replaced Rajiv Kumar. During Rajiv Kumar's tenure, Gyanesh was already the Election Commissioner.
Who is Gyanesh Kumar?
Kumar, a 1988-batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre, helped in drafting the bill that scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and split the former state into two union territories. Back then, he was the Joint Secretary (Kashmir Division) in the Home Ministry.
In 2020, as Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry, Kumar oversaw significant matters related to the Supreme Court case on the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, including managing documents that contributed to the creation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.