Sonia slams govt over delay in appointment of CIC, CVC

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 6

Temperatures in the Lok Sabha soared today when Congress president Sonia Gandhi accused the Centre of deliberately delaying appointments to anti-graft bodies and the government fielded her charges successfully triggering a Congress walkout from the House.

An enraged Sonia, whose adjournment motion on the matter was disallowed by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan (who allowed her to speak at noon) refused to buy the government’s defence articulated by MoS Personnel Jitendra Kumar, and led her colleagues out of the House.

The move had Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu quip: “The Congress has the time to level political charges but none to hear our reply. A party whose CVC was removed by the Supreme Court has no moral authority to question us on transparency.”

Sonia had this morning moved an adjournment motion to question the government on delays in the appointment of Chief Information Commissioner, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Lokpal and two Election Commissioners.

The notice said: “The post of the CIC hasn’t been filled since August 2014. Three posts of Information Commissioners are vacant for a year. Chief Vigilance Commissioner hasn’t been appointed since September 2014 and there are vacancies in the Election Commission. These delays are subverting the accountability of the government to the people”.

In the House, 68-year-old Rae Bareilley MP opened a new front against Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying: “The PM during his election campaign promised transparency but in a U-turn, his government has made sure through the absence of a CIC that the offices of the PMO, Cabinet Secretariat, Ministry of Defence, Supreme Court and High Courts are not accountable under the Right to Information Act. Do citizens no longer have the right to question their government?”