Information Commissioner Hiralal Samaria took oath as the chief of the Central Information Commission (CIC) on November 6. President Draupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to 63-year-old Samaria as the Chief Information Commissioner during a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Now a political controversy has arisen over this appointment. Opposition member and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary in the high-powered selection committee headed by the Prime Minister has expressed his displeasure by writing a letter to the President. He has also alleged that he was kept ‘completely in the dark’ about the selection.
He wrote in the letter, ‘With great sadness and a heavy heart, I wish to bring to your notice that in the matter of selection of the Central Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners, all democratic norms, customs and procedures were set aside.’ He said that the government neither consulted him nor informed him about the selection.
Sources close to Chaudhary say that he was informed about a meeting, but the date was later changed, due to which he had to reschedule all his work. He postponed his trip to Kolkata only to find out that the name of the CIC had been announced. But still they were not told.
this is the rule
According to the Right to Information Act 2005, the CIC and Information Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee chaired by the Prime Minister and consisting of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (in this case the leader of the largest opposition party) and a nominee of the Prime Minister. A Union Minister attends.
this is the reason
Chaudhary said that officials of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had contacted his office in the last week of October seeking his availability for the committee meeting. His office informed him that he is available in Delhi till November 2 and he has to go to West Bengal to attend a previously scheduled meeting on November 3.
Choudhary received a letter from DOPT
However, Chaudhary received a letter from the DoPT, informing him that the committee meeting was scheduled to be held on November 6 at 3 pm. After this he wrote a letter to Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, requesting him to reschedule the meeting.
Congress MP said
He said, ‘As far as the schedule of the meeting is concerned, my office was in constant touch with the concerned officials of DoPT. It was conveyed in very clear terms that it would not be possible for me to attend the meeting due to attending a pre-scheduled event in West Bengal. Therefore, it was also requested that the meeting be rescheduled to 9 am on November 1 or 2 or November 3 instead of 6 pm on that day. However, Samaria was appointed CIC without informing me.
