New Delhi, Apr 24: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had “disagreed” with the appointment of Raj Kumar Goyal as chief information commissioner, suggesting the names of IAS Sumita Dawra, Justice S Muralidhar, and Professor Faizan Mustafa, according to minutes released under the Right to Information Act.
In an RTI response to activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), the Department of Personnel and Training gave the minutes of meeting which was held on December 10, 2025, in the Parliament building to select the chief information commissioner (CIC) and eight other information commissioners.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Rahul Gandhi.
The three-member committee to select the CIC and information commissioners comprises the prime minister, a Union cabinet minister, and the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, according to the RTI Act.
The minutes show that name of Goyal, a former IAS officer, was proposed by Shah.
“Home Minister suggested the name of Shri Raj Kumar Goyal, lAS ((Retd.) (AGMUT: 1990) for appointment as Chief Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission. However, the Leader of Opposition disagreed and suggested three other names,” the minutes of the meeting provided to Batra under the RTI revealed.
According to the minutes, Gandhi instead suggested the name of former labour ministry secretary and 1991-batch IAS, Sumita Dawra (retd), underlining that “she has over three decades of experience in public policy and development across diverse sectors.” “Her breadth of expertise and administrative acumen make her well-suited to shoulder the responsibilities of the CIC,” Gandhi said in his written submission.
He also suggested names of former Odisha High Court chief justice S Muralidhar, and former NALSAR vice-chancellor Faizan Mustafa, in the order of preference, calling them “distinguished professionals with exemplary records in law, justice, and public service.” The government, however, went ahead with Goyal as the CIC.
In the selection of information commissioners, all three members agreed on all but one of the eight proposed names. Gandhi disagreed on one of the names suggested by the government.
“After taking into account all the relevant factors, all Members of the Committee agreed to seven names. However, the Leader of Opposition disagreed with one name,” the minutes showed.
The records did not disclose the name of the person who did not get unanimous support or whether that person was selected or rejected during the meeting.
The government notified the appointment of Goyal and eight other information commissioners on December 15, 2025. (Agencies)
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