Times of India: Gandhinagar: Wednesday, May 02, 2018.
Haribhai V
Patel, a 1982-batch retired IAS officer and the senior-most Right to
Information Commissioner, resigned on Monday after the state government
appointed his much junior colleague, D P Thaker, as the Chief Information
Commissioner. Thaker was serving as the junior RTI commissioner.
Thaker, who
has worked for more than a decade in the chief minister’s office (CMO), retired
as deputy secretary. Patel, on the other hand, retired as additional chief
secretary. Apart from Thaker, R R Varsani a 1994-batch retired IAS officer has
superseded Patel.
Patel on
Monday met governor O P Kohli and handed his resignation in protest. Patel had
also applied for the chief information commissioner’s post and considering his
seniority and experience he was expecting to get the appointment. Patel was
approached several times for his comment but was not available. However, a
source in the commission said: “Patel decided to resign after the government
ignored his seniority and experience. If the government had appointed anyone
from public life he may have found that acceptable.” The source said the
elevation of a much junior officer made Patel resign immediately. “In fact, Varsani
may also resign because he is senior to the new chief information
commissioner,” the source said. Thaker is considered to be close to BJP
leaders. Thaker’s appointment has sparked major resentment in the IAS lobby
because since the formation of the RTI Commission, only IAS officers have been
appointed as Chief Information Commissioners. This is for the first time that
an officer of the deputy secretary rank has been appointed to such a senior
post.
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