Principal Secretary of MP Assembly name approved for MPHRC, no consensus on others

Bhopal, Sep 29 (IANS) A committee chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday held a crucial meeting regarding the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC).

Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar and the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar, along with other members of the committee, were present in the meeting held at the Chief Minister's official residence in Bhopal.

The committee was supposed to approve the names of a chairperson and two members; however, the appointment of only one member was approved as the consensus could not be reached on the others' names, sources told IANS.

"Principal Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Avdesh Pratap Singh's name has been approved for the post of a member of the State Human Rights Commission. The appointment of two other members (chairperson and a member) has been put on hold," a source said.

Notably, Avdesh Pratap Singh is set to retire from the service by September 30.

Congress MLA and LoP in the State Assembly, Umang Singhar, told media persons that he raised questions on the lack of transparency in the process for selection of SHCR's members.

"The Human Rights Commission is the temple of justice, and its foundation is laid in our Constitution. When the government and other institutions fail to provide justice, at that time, the Commission is the last hope for the people. Therefore, I demanded that an ineligible person shouldn't be appointed as a member," he added.

The development has come as the tenure of Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) Acting Chairperson Rajiv Tandon ended last Friday.

Reportedly, more than 4,500 complaints are pending before the MP Human Rights Commission.

After the tenure of Manohar Mamtani as Chairman of the MPHRC ended, nobody was appointed in his place. A member of the commission, Rajiv Tandon, was appointed its Acting Chairman.

--IANS

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