Deccan Chronicle:Saturday,February 11, 2012.
Leader of the Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu’s much hyped “dissent” over the appointment of Information Commissioners appears to be a classic case of much ado about nothing.
Contrary to his public posture that he is very opposed to the way the new Information Commissioners had been picked, Mr Naidu remained highly non-committal while recording his views on the issue in the note file concerned. “In view of the feedback and public perception on the proposed list of Information Commissioners, I suggest that a search committee should be formed to scrutinise the eligibility of the applicants as per the provisions of the RTI Act and place it before the next meeting of the high-level committee,” he scribbled in the note file, according to highly placed sources.
In fact, the Leader of Opposition made the job of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy easier by not putting spokes in the process. After seeing Mr Naidu's views, the government felt comfortable and decided to forward the note file to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan so that the appointment orders could be issued.
Though the Telugu Desam president wanted a search committee to scrutinise the applications as per the provisions of RTI Act, ironically, the Act itself prescribes the selection of the Information Commissioners by a high-level committee comprising the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a senior minister. “There is no provision for any search committee in the Act,” sources said, adding that Mr Naidu indeed undermined his own position as member of the high-level committee that is supposed to go through all the credentials of the applicants and chose the best among them.
Mr Naidu’s talk about a “next meeting” also surprised officials as there would not be any meeting once the new commissioners were shortlisted by the high-level committee. “He did not demand such a meeting in the January 31 meeting,” sources said.
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