The Andhra Pradesh High Court's verdict striking down the appointment of four Congress workers as Information Commissioners under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) has been termed by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) as a big slap on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's face.
"It's a big slap on Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's face. He should step down from his post immediately," TDP general secretary Varla Ramaiah said after the AP High Court delivered its verdict today, based on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by former Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah and others.
The AP High Court annulled the appointment of Congress workers Lam Tantiya Kumari, M Vijaya Nirmala, V Venkateswarlu and Imtiaz Ahmed, directing the AP state government to appoint others as Information Commissioners in their place.
The four in question were appointed as Information Commissioners on February 6 this year, after the state government sent the relevant file to AP Governor E S L Narasimhan for the second time for approval.
On February 21, 2012, the AP Governor refused to appoint four Congress workers as Information Commissioners though a high-level selection committee comprising the AP Chief Minister, the AP Deputy CM and the Leader of Opposition cleared their names.
However, Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, had sent a "dissent note" to the Governor opposing the appointment of Congress workers as Information Commissioners in total violation of the RTI Act.
