President Ram Nath Kovind is sworn in to Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha
New Delhi:
Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha, a retired IFS officer, was sworn in as Chief Information Commissioner by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on Saturday morning.
Mr. Sinha, succeeds Bimal Julka, who ended his term on August 26; the post has been vacant since. Mr Sinha, who has also served as India’s High Commissioner to the UK and Sri Lanka, will serve a three-year term as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).
Appointments to CIC and IC last five years or until the appointee turns 65; Mr Sinha, who was shortlisted by a three-member committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is 62.
The other members of this committee were Interior Minister Amit Shah and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is also the leader of his party in Lok Sabha.
Besides Mr. Sinha, journalist Uday Mahurkar, former labor secretary Heera Lal Samariya and former deputy comptroller and auditor general Saroj Punhani have been appointed information commissioners.
Officials told the PTI news agency that they would be sworn in later today. With their induction, the number of ICs increased to seven; the number sanctioned is 10.
Last week, the central government’s decision to appoint Mr. Sinha and, more specifically, Uday Mahurkar, sparked a political crisis.
Congress disagreed with what it called the “skydropping” of Mr Mahurkar’s candidacy. “He (Mr. Mahurkar) got sidetracked … (He) was an open supporter of the ruling party and its ideology,” Mr. Chowdhury told GalacticGaming.
Regarding Mr Sinha, the congressman said: “lack of national experience on the ground and Vanjana Sarna is the information commissioner of the committee”.
With the contribution of PTI
