Tuesday, May 24, 2016

MLCs should come under RTI Act: Activist

Times of India: Visakhapatnam: Tuesday, May 24, 2016.
MLCs must comply with the rules of the Right to Information Act and disclose their assets as they are part of the state administrative machinery and funded by the public, said RTI activist Kandregula Venkata Ramana.
Speaking at a meeting of the Legislative Council Ethics Body here on Monday, Ramana pointed out that Section 2 ( H) D (2) of the RTI Act states that members of the legislative council should disclose their personal data and open their wealth statements for public consumption as they benefit both directly and indirectly from public funds. He said noted it was high time MLCs make themselves open to scrutiny.
He further added that for a bicameral legislature to function properly, the legislative council must be treated as a responsible body and the members should be treated as representatives of the public, instead of being accorded the status of nominated members of the legislature.
"This will ensure that they conduct business in the house in a more responsible manner and also thereby allow themselves to criticism both positive and negative," Ramana said.