Baba Ramdev, Hazare bat for Kiran Bedi as CIC chief
Dehra Dun: Social activist Anna Hazare and yoga
guru Baba Ramdev have urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to
appoint the country’s first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi as
the Chief Information Commissioner to maintain transparency in
the Commission.
Actor Aamir Khan and Magsaysay awardees Arvind Kejriwal and
Sandeep Pandey have already made a similar demand to the Prime
Minister.
"Bedi, who had fought corruption and criminals throughout
her life, should be made the CIC," Hazare told reporters here.
"We strongly support Kiran Bedi for the next CIC. If she is
not being made the CIC, then we should know the reasons
behind," Ramdev said.
Various social activists from Uttarakhand have also
supported the move.
The post of CIC fell vacant after Central Information
Commission Chief Wajahat Habibullah agreed to head the Jammu
and Kashmir state information commission. Habibullah had
resigned last month.
A new CIC will be chosen this week by a committee
comprising Manmohan Singh, Advani and Law Minister Veerappa
Moily.
60-year-old Bedi is a recipient of the prestigious Ramon
Magsaysay Award among others. During her service, she was also
the Inspector General Prisons of Tihar Jail. She has also
worked with the United Nations as the Police Advisor to the
Secretary General. In 2007, she took voluntary retirement.
Bureau Report