The Delhi government department which processed the appointment of 21 MLAs of the Aam Admi Party as Parliamentary Secretaries to various ministers does not have information about the law under which they were appointed and had merely acted on a note from Chief Minister’s office.
An RTI response received from the General Administration Department shows that the appointment was done on the bases of a “note” received from the office of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal dated March 5, 2015.
When RTI activist Vivek Garg took the matter to senior official of the GAD through his first appeal under the RTI Act, the Central Public Information Office argued that the matter relating to appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries was dealt by his office on the basis of the note dated March 05, 2015 which came from the office of the Chief Minister.
“It was further clarified by PIO(GAD) that his office did not possess any other information regarding this matter,” said P. C. Jain, Special Secretary (GAD).
“The insistence of appellant for quoting the relevant law under which the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries has been made is something like generating an information which is not available with the office of the PIO(GAD),” he said.
In his ruling, Mr. Jain said that it had been clarified by the PIO (GAD) that whatever information and documents are available in this mater, the same have already been disseminated and provided to the appellant.
“It is true that PIO (GAD), of his own, cannot generate the information which could throw some light on the basis of appointment of such appointments,” he said.
21 MLAs were appointed as Parliamentary secretaries Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. According to the reply, parliamentary secretaries do not receive any remuneration or any perks of any kind from the government—meaning no burden on exchequer. They, however, may use government transport for official purposes and space in the minister’s office would be provided to them to facilitate their work, it said.
