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Govt. to decide on key appointments today

by IBNS 23 May 2015, 08:30 am

New Delhi, May 23 (IBNS) Weeks after Sonia Gandhi's scathing criticism in Parliament, the government will decide on Saturday the names shortlisted for various key posts in the Chief Vigilance Commission and the Information Commission.

Prime Minister Narendra  Modi has nominated Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to the panel that will select the Chief Information Commissioner and three other information commissioners, reports said.

The Chief Vigilance Commissioner and a Vigilance Commissioner will be appointed by a panel that includes PM Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

After the Lok Sabha elections, which witnessed  the Congress reduced to just 44 seats, the lack of a Leader of Opposition stood as a hurdle in the appointment of members to statutory bodies that require a bipartisan selection panel. The government then decided to allow the Congress to join the selection panels as the single largest opposition party.

Earlier this month, Sonia Gandhi made a rare intervention in Parliament pointing at the Modi government's "deplorable lapse" in keeping posts vital to transparency and good governance vacant while showing "extraordinary urgency" in introducing bills.