A nearly 90-minute meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sparked intense buzz in parliamentary corridors on Wednesday, even though the agenda was to finalise the appointment of the Central Information Commissioner (CIC).
The duration of the meeting led to speculations about what transpired during the 88 minutes inside the Prime Minister's Office.
Sources quoted by NDTV gave inside details of the meeting, saying that Rahul arrived at the PMO at 1pm and the discussions began at 1.07pm.
As per the rules, the appointments of CIC and other important posts such as that of the chief election commission is decided by the Prime Minister, a Union minister nominated by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Sources said that the discussion in PMO did not just center around the appointment of CIC but also the eight Information Commissioners and a Vigilance Commissioner.
According to the NDTV report, Rahul opposed to all the appointments proposed during the meeting and submitted his dissent note on the selection of the officials.
It is commonplace for opposition leaders to express their disapproval over the candidates proposed by the government during such meetings.
NDTV reported that there was some buzz among leaders in Parliament about the duration of the meeting, since it was expected to wrap up much earlier.
There are currently eight vacant posts in the Central Information Commission (CIC), including the position of Chief Information Commissioner. The commission’s officials are responsible for deciding on complaints and appeals filed by RTI applicants and for ordering the release of information.
Until mid-September, Hiralal Samariya served as India’s Chief Information Commissioner.
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