Times
of India: New Delhi: Monday, 25 August 2014.
As the
government mulls the Supreme Court's suggestion to recast Lokpal rules to give
the opposition a say in selection of the ombudsman even if there is no
recognized leader of opposition, existing provisions in the Central Vigilance
Act and Right to Information Act to deal with the eventuality of a vacancy in
LOP's post may offer a solution.
Under the two
Acts, the appointments of central vigilance commissioner (CVC) and vigilance
commissioners and that of central information commissioner (CIC) and
information commissioners must be made on the recommendation of a high-powered
committee, of which leader of opposition in Lok Sabha is a part. However, an
explanation to the provisions dealing with composition of this high-powered
committee states that where no leader of opposition has been recognized, the
leader of the single largest opposition party may be deemed as LOP.
Therefore, if
the government agrees to give leader of the single largest opposition party the
same say as LOP in selection of Lokpal, it will only be in keeping with what is
already the case with regard to CVC and CIC and what is now proposed for the
National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).
Incidentally,
the department of personnel and training (DoPT) had earlier flagged the
"gaps" in the Lokpal Act, in contrast to the CVC Act, 2003 and RTI
Act, 2005, in that it did not provide for a scenario where no person is
recognized as LOP in the House of the People.
While
discussing a revision in Lokpal Act rules with the law ministry to allow
flexibility to the search committee to include names other than those
recommended by DoPT, then personnel secretary S K Sarkar had sought to know if
going ahead with appointment of Lokpal in the absence of an LOP would entail a
legal challenge. DoPT had enquired if Lokpal rules needed to be revised in line
with the CVC Act and RTI Act to recognize leader of the single largest
opposition party in Lok Sabha as LOP.
According to
an explanation to Section 4(1) of the CVC Act, which lists prime minister, home
minister and LOP as members of a committee for appointment of CVC/VCs,
"the leader of opposition in the House of the People shall, when no such
leader has been so recognized, include the leader of the single largest group
in opposition of the government in the House of the People".
Similarly, an
explanation is appended to Section 12(3) of the RTI Act - according to which
CIC must be appointed by a committee comprising prime minister, LOP and a Union
minister to be nominated by the PM - stating that "where the leader of
opposition in the House of the People has not been recognised as such, the
leader of the single largest group in opposition of the government in the House
of the People shall be deemed to be the leader of opposition".
Even Article
124(A) sought to be inserted in the Constitution to provide for NJAC states
that the two eminent persons represented on NJAC will be nominated by the
committee comprising prime minister, Chief Justice of India and the LOP or
"where there is no such leader of opposition, then, the leader of single
largest opposition party in the House of the People".