No LoP needed to pick Lokpal, CVC
BY MPost18 Nov 2014 4:57 AM IST
MPost18 Nov 2014 4:57 AM IST
The government is all set to take refuge in an opinion by its top law officer to go ahead and make appointment of the chief vigilance commissioner (CVC), the Lokpal and the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), without having the recognised leader of opposition on board of the selection panel. While the CVC’s post has fallen vacant following the retirement of Pradeep Kumar last month, the first Lokpal is still to be appointed since the passage of the ombudsman bill earlier this year. The post of the CBI director is falling vacant next month with the retirement of present incumbent Ranjit Sinha.
Attorney-general Mukul Rohatgi has said that the absence of a recognised leader of opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha will not invalidate appointments in various statutory bodies including Lokpal and CVC among others. Rohatgi, in his opinion to Lok Sabha on the issue of LoP, has also said that the power to recognise a parliamentary party or group for functioning in the House is solely that of the Speaker.
The LoP is a member of selection committees to choose the chief and members of Lokpal, CVC, CBI, Central Information Commission (CIC) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The AG’s opinion was sought by the Lok Sabha secretariat after UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan seeking LoP post for Congress nominee.
All the four Acts -- the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the CVC Act, 2003, RTI Act, 2005 and the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 -- provide that the selection ‘shall not be rendered invalid under any of the Acts merely on account of a vacancy of any member in the committees,’ the AG said. It is clear that in at least two of the four Acts (CVC and RTI), Parliament has clearly stated its intention i.e. that there may be a situation where no LoP is recognised in Lok Sabha by the Speaker.
The four Acts have nothing to do with the actual recognition of a member of the House as Leader of Opposition which recognition vests solely in the discretion of the Speaker, the AG has said.Â
‘As far as the other two Acts are concerned, it is obvious that the vacancy in the selection committee regarding Leader of Opposition, who will not be present in the committee because of lack of appointment as such, will be treated as a casual vacancy i.e. akin to a member of the selection committee not being able to attend the meeting,’ Rohatgi has said in the letter copy of which was received in response to an RTI query filed by news agency PTI.
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