A notification is going viral on the internet claiming that two new Election Commissioners to the Election Commission of India (ECI) have been appointed.
What are users claiming?: The post is being shared with a caption in Hindi that said, "New Delhi: Rajesh Kumar Gupta and Priyansh Sharma were appointed Election Commissioners of India. The process of the above appointments was completed by the Prime Minister of India, Home Minister and Leader of the Opposition."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
What is the truth?: The viral notification is fake. As of when this report was being written, no new Election Commissioners were appointed.
No news reports available: A keyword search did not return any credible news reports indicating the appointment of new commissioners to the ECI.
We did not find any information available in the public about the announcement.
A report in Financial Express said that the selection committee, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to meet on 14 March to appoint the two new commissioners.
These two new commissioners will be assisting the ECI during the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
The report was published today, 14 March.
(Source: Financial Express/Screenshot)
No such notification available on Gazette website: We checked for the notification on the official website of Gazette of India. However, we could not find anything similar to the viral notification.
PIB clarifies on X: The fact-checking unit of Press Information Bureau (PIB), in a post on their X handle, dismissed the claims of the appointment of Gupta and Sharma as the new Election Commissioners.
The post was shared on 13 March and its caption said, "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."
Conclusion: It is clear that a fake notification is being shared to claim that Rajesh Kumar Gupta and Priyansh Sharma have been appointed as the two Election Commissioners.
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