news details |
|
|
| Sushma and hunt for Wajahat’s successor | | |
ABID SHAH
NEW DELHI, DEC 21: The ascent of Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Sushma Swaraj, to the post of leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha has among other things brought her in the select group loop of that is supposed to decide as to who should be made the Chief Information Commissioner at the Centre under the Right to Information Act.
The question that is being asked here is whether this would further delay the appointment of the successor of Wajahat Habibullah, the present CIC at the Centre, or expedite it.
Habibullah has been waiting for past several months to be relieved of his duties in New Delhi in order to join as CIC in the high stake State of Jammu and Kashmir for which he earlier accepted an offer made by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Sushama Swaraj who took over as leader of Opposition just the other day could not be available for comments on Monday evening as her own successor or the deputy leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha was being chosen around the same time by her party. Later, the BJP announced that Gopinath Munde would now be Sushma’s deputy in the Lok Sabha.
Yet by virtue of being the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Government would have to take Sushma Swaraj’s view on appointing the CIC at the Centre.
Last month Sushma Saraj’s mentor and predecessor LK Advani quailed before Government’s reporter desire to promote any of the two – MA Ansari or AN Tiwari -- who are Information Commissioners to take over as CIC. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Advani could also not agree upon other likely incumbents for the post.
Thus, it was decided that a panel of likely successors of Wajahat Habibiullah would be drawn by Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily in consultation with BJP legal luminary Arun Jaitley. Yet the decision regarding the new CIC was obviously held up because a change of guards was imminent in the BJP.
Now that Sushma Swaraj has taken over as the leader of Opposition, it is thought to be highly unlikely that she would differ with her predecessor on the choice of the CIC for the Centre.
Sources point out that the only change that is possible is that the Government may find it now easier to get Opposition’s nod and reach a consensus with the Opposition in finding the new CIC as is mandatory in the law.
For Habibullah and Jammu and Kashmir the sooner the Government and Opposition are able to make their choice, the better, argue the sources. This is more so since Habibullah would attain the age of 65 years in September 2010 which is the time for stepping down from the post of the CIC under the RTI Act whether art the Centre or in Jammu and Kashmir.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
