I used to be stored in darkish about new chief data commissioner’s choice: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the chief of the Congress’ legislative occasion within the Lok Sabha, on Monday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu alleging that he was “stored in the dead of night” in regards to the collection of the brand new Chief Info Commissioner Heeralal Samariya, PTI reported.

On Monday, Murmu administered the oath of workplace to Samariya because the chief data commissioner in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Samariya will head the Central Info Fee, which is a transparency watchdog and the ultimate attraction physique beneath the Proper to Info Act.

The fee’s chief is appointed by the president primarily based on the advice of a variety committee headed by the prime minister. The committee additionally contains a Union minister nominated by the prime minister and the chief of the largest Opposition occasion within the Lok Sabha, PTI quoted Chowdhury as saying.

The Congress is the most important Opposition occasion within the Decrease Home.

The choice committee contains Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Dwelling Minister Amit Shah and Chowdhury.

In his letter, Chowdhury advised Murmu that he was not knowledgeable about Samariya’s appointment.

“It’s with excessive unhappiness and a heavy coronary heart that I carry to your discover that every one democratic norms, customs and procedures had been thrown to the wind within the matter of collection of the central data commissioner and data commissioners,” Chowdhury mentioned.

The Division of Personnel and Coaching had contacted Chowdhury’s workplace within the final week of October asking if he was out there for the choice committee assembly, The Indian Categorical reported. Nevertheless, his workplace knowledgeable the division that Chowdhury wouldn’t be capable of journey to Delhi until November 2 and that he could be in West Bengal on November 3.

Regardless of this, the committee’s assembly was scheduled on November 3, Chowdhury mentioned.

“The truth that inside hours of the assembly during which solely the PM and the Dwelling Minister had been current and the ‘face of the Opposition’, that’s, me, as a bona fide member of the choice committee was not current, the names of the chosen candidates had been introduced, notified and likewise sworn into workplace, solely signifies that the complete choice train was predetermined,” Chowdhury alleged.

He mentioned that it was much more blatant that he was not knowledgeable in regards to the end result of the assembly. “And much more obviously, aside from being disadvantaged of the chance to be part of the assembly known as in reference to the choice course of, I acquired an invite this morning [Monday] for attending the swearing-in ceremony of the newly chosen candidates for the posts of CIC/ICs [Chief Information Commissioners/Information Commissioners,” he added.

Chowdhury urged Murmu to “take every possible measure for ensuring that our democratic traditions and ethos do not continue to get diluted by not giving the Opposition its rightful and legitimate place to be heard”.