Maintaining that the State Government has selected laxmi Narayan Patnaik and Sashiprava Bindhani as Information Commissioners of the State in an arbitrary manner, a large number of rights activists on Sunday decided to meet the Governor on Monday to plead with him not to accept the proposal. More than 50 rights activists gathered here at the Red Cross Bhawan and hit out at the Government for not adopting a transparent manner.
“The leader of Opposition, who is also a member of the Selection Committee headed by the Chief Minister, has already opposed the names of Patnaik and Bindhani. Why the Government did not select the names unanimously,” asked Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan convenor Pradip Pradhan.
Hence, it was decided to meet Governor Dr SC Jamir on Monday at 11 am and apprise him about the manner of selection. “We will also submit a memorandum to him urging him not to approve the Government’s proposal and, instead, ensure a transparent selection procedure,” said Biswajit Mohanty of Transparency International.