New Delhi, Dec 11 Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi's reported claim about a lack of representation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Central Information Commission (CIC) was rebutted on Thursday by officials, claiming that five out of the eight recommended names for the transparency panel were from the disadvantaged sections.
Regarding the eight vacancies considered on Wednesday for appointment as Information Commissioners, the Union government recommended one SC, one ST, one OBC, one minority representative, and one woman, a government source said.
"Overall, five of the eight recommended names were from disadvantaged sections. In light of these facts, Rahul Gandhi's claims do not hold up," a government functionary said.
As per media reports, at the meeting to select the Information Commissioners, Rahul Gandhi recorded his dissent, alleging that the shortlists did not include names from the SC, ST, OBC, Economically Backward Class (EBC) communities.
As per media, the Lok Sabha LoP claimed there was a "systematic pattern" of excluding the SC, ST, OBC, EBC and minority communities from appointments to Constitutional and autonomous institutions.
Sources in the Union government dismissed Rahul Gandhi's reported claims and said that the facts present a different picture.
"The Central Information Commission was established in 2005. From 2005 to 2014, during the UPA government's tenure, not a single person from the SC/ST community was appointed as either a member or the Chairperson of the Commission. It was the NDA government that appointed Suresh Chandra in 2018, a member of the ST community, to the Commission," the government functionary said.
In 2020, Heeralal Samariya was appointed the Information Commissioner, and in 2023, he became the Chief Information Commissioner -- the first-ever CIC from the SC community.
According to government sources, the concerns raised by Rahul Gandhi at the selection committee meeting were addressed immediately.
He was also given data to remove doubts and counter his allegation that there was a "systematic pattern" of excluding the SC, ST, OBC, EBC and minority communities from appointments to Constitutional and autonomous institutions.
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