Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to meet Opposition Leader L K Advani and Law Minister Veerappa Moily on Friday to finalise the name of the new Chief Information Commissioner. Official sources said the meeting is likely to take place tomorrow evening - a day before Singh leaves for his State visit to the US. The meeting,which will take place almost a month after incumbent CIC Wajahat Habibullah resigned,is being looked forward to by RTI activists who are demanding transparency in the selection process and pressing for the appointment of a non-bureaucrat to the post. While there is no official confirmation about the candidates shortlisted for the post,several names,including those of Civil Aviation Secretary Madhavan Nambiar,environmentalist Shekhar Singh and Information Commissioner A N Tiwari are doing rounds. The PM-Advani meeting to finalise the name for the coveted post was to take place on October 27 but it was deferred with the authorities citing no reason. The activists had also written to Singh,UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition L K Advani asking to finalise the rules and process for the selection of the CIC before naming the new chief. They said while the RTI Act specifies the composition of selection committee but it is silent about the process like advertising and shortlisting to be adopted before finalising the name. A PIL filed by the activists at the Delhi High Court seeking transparency in the selection process was also turned down. The court advised the appellants that they should build a public movement to garner support for making necessary changes in the transparency law. As per the law,the charge of the CIC cannot be handed over to any other person on ad hoc basis. Even if Habibullah wishes to do so,the new person's name needs to be ratified by the three-member committee. Habibullah will be joining as the first State Information Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir soon.
