Seeking a high-level inquiry into the alleged irregularities, corruption, malpractice and favouritism in the recent appointment of two State Information Commissioners, activists of the Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan, a State-level forum spearheading campaign for effective implementation of RTI Act, on Thursday staged a demonstration at Mahatma Gandhi Marg and submitted a memorandum to the Governor for his intervention.
The activists urged the Governor to direct the Government to issue a detailed written transparent procedure in respect of appointment of the Commissioners, to declare publicly name of the applicants, their background, experience and expertise, details of the Search Committee, public view on the final list for the posts of Information Commissioners prior to sending the name to the Governor for appointment, etc.
The activists have been opposing the appointment of laxmi Narayan Patnaik and Sashiprava Bindhani as the Information Commissioners citing that transparency has not been maintained in their selection.
Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan convenor Pradip Pradhan and many others participated in the strike.