New Delhi: Senior most Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma is tipped to be new Chief Information Commissioner, while former CBDT chief KV Chowdary is understood to be in the running for the Central Vigilance Commissioner's post.
These names are understood to have been cleared in the meetings that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Monday with leader of largest opposition party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
While Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attended the meeting on selection of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), Home Minister Rajnath Singh attended the other meeting on Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh was also present in the meetings.
There was no official word on the subject but sources indicated that 64-year-old Sharma could be named as the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), a post that has been lying vacant for over nine months.
In the race to the other top post, 61-year-old Chowdary is said to be the top contender while acting CVC Rajiv is also in the running, they said.
"The panels have met and their recommendations have been sent to President's office. All the names against the vacant posts have been sent to the President. I cannot tell you the names. The meeting was confidential," Kharge said after the meeting.
To a question whether there was disagreement on the names, he said there is no question of agreement or disagreement on the names as of now.
A formal announcement of the names will take place after President Pranab Mukherjee, to whom the recommendations have gone, gives his assent. The President is away on a five-day visit abroad, till Thursday.
In April, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi had attacked the Prime Minister over the delay in the appointments of chiefs of CIC, CVC and Lokpal saying the government feared transparency. Many RTI activists have also questioned the delay in the appointments.
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