Opposition leader M.K. Stalin refused to attend the meeting to make a recommendation to the Governor for the appointment of the Chief Information Commissioner, citing a lack of transparency in the selection procedure.
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The meeting, scheduled to be held on Monday, is to be chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami. Mr. Stalin has sent his letter to C. Swarna, Secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department, who had sent him the invitation to attend the meeting.
“Your letter says that a search committee has been formed and its recommendations would be taken up for discussion. But the letter has no details on how many people had applied for the post and their qualifications. Absence of such vital details denied the opportunity to express constructive views on the recommendation,” Mr. Stalin said in his letter.
He said it was clear that the government was not ready to conduct the selection in a transparent manner and it seemed that it had already finalised a candidate for the post. “The meeting has been convened just as a formality,” Mr Stalin said.
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He alleged the method followed by the government to appoint a person to uphold transparency in government administration this way was “against democracy” . “I will not be able to attend a meeting completely devoid of transparency,” he said.