CIC to Get New Chief, 2 Commissioners; Congress Leader Opposes

Ex-IFS officer Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha is soon expected to be appointed as the next chief information commissioner.

Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo: Central Information Commission)

Retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer and Information Commissioner Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha is expected to be appointed as the next chief information commissioner (CIC), while journalist Uday Mahurkar would be taking the position as one of the information commissioners, reports said on Friday, 30 October.

However, Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has expressed strong opposition over the move. Chowdhury is part of a high-powered committee led by the prime minister that appoints members of the Central Information Commission.

According to The Indian Express, the Congress leader had termed the shortlisting process for appointments as "nothing but an empty formality aimed at carrying out a hog-wash that defeats the very aim and goal of transparency and accountability that the RTI Act envisages. [sic]"

For the chief information commissioner, he called for the appointment of someone with sufficient “on-ground domestic experience”.

Meanwhile, on Mahurkar, Chowdhury told NDTV, "He has been sky-dropped though he did not even apply and was an open supporter of the ruling party and its ideology."

Apart from Sinha and Mahurkar, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General Saroj Punhani is also set to be named an information commissioner.

The Congress MP further called it "appalling" that the search committee did not explain why certain candidates among the applicants for the posts were shortlisted and others weren't.