OPINION Rahul Gandhi’s claims fall flat: CIC appointments from 2005 tells a different story

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At the meeting to select Information Commissioners, the highly placed sources said that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi recorded his dissent, alleging that the shortlists did not include names from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, OBC, EBC communities. As per media reports, Rahul Gandhi claimed there was a “systematic pattern” of excluding SC, ST, OBC, EBC and minority communities from appointments to Constitutional and autonomous institutions.

However, the sources pointed out the facts that present a different picture.

The Central Information Commission was established in 2005. From 2005 to 2014, during the UPA government’s tenure, not a single person from the SC/ST community was appointed as either a member or the chairperson of the Commission. It was the NDA government that appointed Suresh Chandra in 2018, a member of the ST community, to the Commission.

In 2020, Heeralal Samariya was appointed Information Commissioner, and in 2023, he became the Chief Information Commissioner — the first-ever CIC from the Scheduled Caste community.

Regarding the eight vacancies considered yesterday for appointment as Information Commissioners, as per sources the Central Government recommended one SC, one ST, one OBC, one minority representative, and one woman.

Overall, five out of the eight recommended names were from disadvantaged sections. Considering these facts, Rahul Gandhi’s claims do not hold up.