The names of the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), eight information commissioners (ICs), and a vigilance commissioner have reportedly been finalized by the three-member selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which convened on Wednesday.
However, according to reports, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, expressed his strong disapproval of the decisions in writing.
The lack of names from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and OBC populations is claimed to have caused Gandhi much distress.
The issue brought up by the Congress neta is probably going to be a major topic of discussion at the massive demonstration against "vote chori" that Congress is planning for December 14.
It wasn't until late at night that the specifics of the appointments were revealed. The Prime Minister's Office served as the venue for the roughly 1.5-hour meeting.
Amit Shah, the home minister, was also present. According to sources, the LoP questioned the selection procedures used for CICs and ICs and requested additional information about the appointees. Gandhi believed that the government's suggestion for the names was wholly "biased," according to sources.
According to reports, he stated that it was unacceptable for weaker populations to be excluded from constitutional posts given the need to increase their involvement in all spheres, including higher positions. It is said that the LoP vehemently expressed his disagreements with the government's proposal.
The meeting was divided into three sections: the appointment of the CIC, the selection of eight ICs, and the vigilance commissioner.
According to reports, Gandhi provided his "observations" on the eight candidates for the position of ICs while registering his "dissent" in writing separately on the government's proposal for CIC and vigilance commissioner.
Since President Heeralal Samariya resigned from his position on September 13 after turning 65, the Central Information Commission has been without a leader.
The panel may have up to ten commissioners in addition to the chief. At the moment, Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Tiwari are the only two.
The commission's website states that there are currently more than 30,800 pending cases. Since November 2023, the eight information commissioner positions have been unfilled. Samariya's resignation left the chief's position empty for the seventh time since 2014.
The panels that the government produced and offered to the Collegium for the ten posts contained a total of fifty-three names.
The government reportedly consented to include a few members of the marginalized populations on the panels in response to the protest. However, their presence in the appointments remained unclear.
According to Section 12(3) of the RTI Act, the search committee, which also includes the LoP and a Union minister the PM has selected, is chaired by the prime minister.
In accordance with the CIC appointment procedure, newspaper ads and the DoPT website are used to solicit the details of potential candidates.
