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Sarkaria, Abid Hussain await letter from government

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Justice (retd) Rajinder Singh Sarkaria and former Indian ambassador to the United States Abid Hussain still haven't received any intimation from the government of their appointment on the eleven-member Constitution Review Commission.

The government announced the setting up of the commission on February 13 under the chairmanship of former chief justice of India M N Venkatachellaiah.

When contacted, Justice Sarkaria, who headed the panel that looked into Centre-state relations more than a decade ago, told rediff.com that he had read about his appointment in papers.

"I have been hearing about it from friends in the media. But so far I have not received any intimation from the government. I want to know what the letter says... what are the terms of reference. Let the members of the commission meet at least once and discuss how to go about the task. Till the time I receive an official intimation, I have nothing to tell you."

Abid Hussain too learnt of his appointment through the media. "Friends like you have been calling me up. I hope they do send me a letter," he smiled.

Hussian, known for his pro-Congress leanings, was closely associated with the government during Congress rule. He was also a member of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation till recently.

Subhash Kashyap, former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, however, felt there was no need for an official letter to be sent to all members. "I don't know what you mean by official confirmation. If the officer who spoke to us before the government announced the names is not an official confirmation then what is it? But if you are talking in terms of a gazette notification, then it has not been done so far," he said.

According to him, the delay in the gazette notification was probably because the government had still not been able to find a suitable member secretary for the committee.

Sources in the government confirmed Kashyap's point of view. They said the government is considering a few names. Committee chairman Justice Venkatachellaiah is in touch with the government in this regard.

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