Govt Counters Rahul Gandhi, Says 5 of 8 Picks From Disadvantaged Sections
New Delhi, Dec 12: Government sources have countered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks regarding the latest appointments to the Central Information Commission (CIC), stating that five of the eight shortlisted candidates belong to disadvantaged communities, including SC, ST, OBC, minority and women categories.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had reportedly recorded his dissent during a meeting of the high-level selection committee — comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and himself — held on Wednesday to finalise the next Chief Information Commissioner and eight Information Commissioners.
However, sources said the committee finalised eight names, and the Centre ensured representation from diverse sections: one SC, one ST, one OBC, one minority candidate, and one woman among the eight shortlisted.
They emphasised that five of the eight candidates recommended for the Information Commissioner posts are from disadvantaged groups.
Sources further highlighted that from 2005 to 2014, during the UPA tenure, no SC/ST individual was appointed as either CIC member or chief. The NDA government, they noted, appointed Suresh Chandra (ST) in 2018, and in 2020, appointed Heeralal Samariya (SC) as Information Commissioner, who later became the first-ever Chief Information Commissioner from the SC community in 2023.
