Amid the reports of the appointment of two new election commissioners, a purported Gazette notification circular from the Government of India surfaced on the Internet notifying the appointment of Dr Rajesh Kumar Gupta and Priyansh Sharma as the two election commissioners.
The social media posts carrying the above circular can be seen here, here and here. (archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be false.
Upon a keyword search, the NM team could not find any authentic report suggesting the appointment of Rajesh Kumar Gupta and Priyansh Sharma as election commissioners.
Meantime, on March 14, 2024, the Congress leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, told the media that former bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar were selected to fill the top positions in the Election Commission of India. More such reports can be seen here, here and here.
#WATCH | Gyanesh Kumar from Kerala and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu from Punjab selected as
election commissioners, says Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury pic.twitter.com/O3C5xcXgQF
— NewsMobile (@NewsMobileIndia) March 14, 2024
In addition, the government’s fact-checking wing, PIB Fact Check, in an X-post has also clarified that the circular in question is false.
A notification regarding the appointment of two election commissioners to the Election Commission of India is circulating on social media #PIBFactCheck
✔️This notification is #fake
✔️No such Gazette notification has been issued. pic.twitter.com/VUCgl4l8wS
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 13, 2024
It is to be noted that official notification from the government on the appointment of the two new election commissioners is still awaited.
Hence, in conclusion, the above findings establish that the circular in question is fabricated.
