Deccan Herald: Hyderabad: Monday, February 04, 2013.
The Andhra
Pradesh government appears to be on a collision course with Governor E S L
Narasimhan over the appointment of information commissioners with political
backgrounds.
The Kiran
Kumar Reddy government has apparently decided to go ahead with four candidates
who were rejected by the governor last year. The government has sent the file
to Raj Bhavan, recommending the names of former civil judge Imtiaz Ahmed,
former zilla parishad member Tantiya Kumari, M Vijaya Nirmala of the Praja
Rajyam Party and Youth Congress leader V Venkateswarlu.
Narasimhan
had rejected their candidature and approved of four others when the proposal
was first sent to him. He had returned the file to the chief minister in
February last year, advising him to reconsider the matter. The decision came in
the wake of public pressure to cancel the appointments and start the selection
process afresh.
Representatives
of NGOs and RTI activists had alleged that the government violated the spirit
of the RTI Act by turning the institution into a “political rehabilitation
center.” A year later, the government seems to have stuck to its choice. The
file was sent to the governor, seeking his clearance, indicating a rift.
According to convention, the governor cannot return the file again.
“The
governor’s office has received the file. He is yet to go through it,” Raj
Bhavan sources said. Narasimhan might consult legal experts before proceeding
further on the matter.
Meanwhile, a
review petition filed by the Union government in the Supreme Court, regarding
the appointment of information commissioners, is pending final disposal. The
Centre had challenged the apex court’s stipulation that people with legal
background be instated as information commissioners.
Meanwhile,
the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) has condemned
the state government’s move and threatened to move the high court, challenging
the appointment of individuals with political background as information
commissioners.
“We will
approach the governor as well, requesting him not to accept the government’s
choice,” said NCPRI convener B Ramakrishna Raju.