Fasting protest for fair CIC selections

Social activist Anna Hazare to brief Maharashtra governor on behalf of RTI activists

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Danish Raza | October 11, 2010



Social activist Anna Hazare will meet Maharashtra Governor on K Sankarnarayanan on Wednesday to push for transparency in the selection of information commissioners, a long standing demand of RTI activists across the country.


Last Thursday, the Maharashtra state government finalized the names of the chief information commissioner and three information commissioners.

All four are expected to be sworn in by the end of this week.

Hazare recently met Mumbai based RTI activist Krishnaraj Rao who is on a hunger strike for past six days to protest these appointments. “We want the governor to reject all these names and make fresh selections based on a transparent procedure,” said Rao, who is fasting at a temple in Ralegan Siddhi, Ahmednagar district. “On Tuesday, I will go back to Mumbai, but continue my fast,” he added.

G R Vora, fellow activist said that the activists were hopeful that Hazare would communicate their grievances in the best possible manner.

Activists allege that state governments have been violating the RTI Act by appointing former bureaucrats as state information commissioners and chief information commissioners. The Act says that eminent people with wide knowledge in various fields such as law, science and technology, social service, management and or mass media shall be appointed as the SIC and CIC.
 
They demand that the government should advertise in prominent newspapers for the vacancies at state and central information commissions.

 

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