Too Close For Comfort

In a move that will leave many with a sense of déjà vu, a three-member selection committee set up by the Haryana government selected three new State Information Commissioners – all of whom are close to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. One of them is a close political friend; the second is the wife of a close political friend; and, the third, husband of a sitting High Court judge currently hearing many cases against the Haryana government.

The selection committee included Hooda and Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal. The appointees were – Amar Singh, a retired Excise and Taxation department officer and husband of Justice Jaya Chaudhary; Rekha, wife of Hooda’s political advisor Professor Virender Singh; and Shiv Raman Gaur, the CM’s retired additional principal secretary who was recently re-employed as his advisor (health).

The same selection committee, two years ago, had similarly appointed three commissioners, all family members of politicos close to the powers that be. Naresh Gulati was appointed State Chief Information Commissioner to succeed his sister-in-law Meenaxi Anand Chaudhry. On the same day, Urvashi Gulati, wife of Naresh Gulati and sister of Chaudhary, also joined as State Information Commissioner. Hooda’s family reunion gift gathered ample media attention at that time.

Significantly, former Haryana CM and leader of opposition in the Assembly, Om Prakash Chautala, also a member of the selection panel and currently on bail, did not attend the meeting yesterday.

Chautala made known his dissent and cited nepotism in a note to Hooda. According to an Indian Express report, in his dissent note, Chautala urged the CM to stop the appointments. “It will only result in wrongfully extending the benefits of political patronage to persons like Smt Rekha, Amar Singh and Shiv Raman Gaur, who otherwise are not eligible for appointment as the state information commissioners,” he said.

The new appointees are likely to be sworn in by Governor Jagannath Pahadia who retires on July 26.

Defending the decision, Bhukkal in a statement to Indian Express said, “The screening committee scrutinises the applications of interested people who have applied for the post. The screening committee forwarded us the names and we gave our approval. There is nothing wrong in this”.

The Haryana Information Commission was established in 2005 and currently there is one serving state Chief Information Commissioner and seven Information Commissioners. An information commissioner’s tenure is restricted to five years only or till the age of 65, whichever comes earlier.