Live Law: New Delhi: Tuesday, August 22, 2017.
Opining that
“in principle, every legislature/parliamentary party shall be considered as public
authority”, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has called for views from the
BJP and other political parties as to why legislature/ parliamentary parties
should not be brought under the purview of RTI Act and why were they not
disclosing voluntarily the selection of work and use of funds under the MPLAD
scheme.
Information
Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu invited the views of all political parties with
presence in the legislative houses at the Centre and the States on the issue
while also calling the civil society, including NGOs and individual citizens,
before September 8, 2017.
The order
came on a complaint filed by Vishnu Dev Bhandari, who had sought information
for the progress of the works undertaken in Khatauna block of Madhubani district,
Bihar, under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development scheme (MPLADS).
Under the RTI Act, he sought the action taken report.
The Ministry
of Statistics & Programme did not bother to respond his query, at which he had
also asked whether he should ask the MP concerned.
“The
voter-appellant was furious over non-response of the public authority. His questions
appear to be genuine and quite democratic. If not, the voter who would ask the
representative or agency that executes the works for which the representative
has allocated funds? If a voter sought information about his representative in
Parliament regarding the progress of works initiated under his MPLADS, it has
to be appreciated as proper use… A voter has every right under the RTI to know
about selection of works, progress, incomplete works, the delay, reasons
thereof and possible time of their completion,” Acharyulu said.
While asking
the ×rst appellate authority to explain why disciplinary action should not be
recommended against him for not taking up the first appeal, the Commission
directed “the PIO/PA or PS of the concerned MP, Hukumdev Narayan Yadav to
furnish the details of the works recommended by him, the criterion of selection
or rejection and progress of the work etc before 7th September 2017”.
It said the
MPs, who take oath of secrecy, have the duty to provide information on the use
of Rs. 5 crore tax payers’ money under the MPLAD scheme.
“Considering
the possibility of policy or guidelines being issued from the Parliamentary Party
of the BJP, in which the concerned MP is the member, invites the views/contentions
of the Government Chief Whip, the Leader, and Deputy Leader (LS) of BJP, or any
other authorized representative as to why the BJP Parliamentary Party should
not be declared as ‘public authority’ under 2(h) of RTI Act, 2005, on 7th September
2017 at 2 pm before this Commission.
“As the BJP
Parliamentary Party is the ruling party of the Government of India, proclaimed
its commitment to transparency and clean government, the Commission recommends
to voluntarily disclose the criterion for selection of works under MPLADS along
with constituency-wise works list and their progress with regular updating, on their
official website/websites of the party or Legislature Party or individual MPs,
if they have any, to fulfil their democratic obligation to inform the voters of
India, within reasonable time,” it added.
“The
Commission considers that it is required and that will be appropriate for all
other parties, who have presence in their respective legislative houses at
centre or states, also to express their views on the point why their respective
legislature/parliamentary parties shall not be brought under the purview of RTI
Act, as public authorities and why not they disclose such information
voluntarily.
“Apart from
political parties in centre and states, the Commission also invites civil society
including NGOs and individual citizens having concern for democracy and transparency
to express their opinion/contentions or views on the issue of bringing legislature
parties/parliamentary parties under the purview of the Right to Information Act,
2005, to provide people access to information, by email to madabhushisridhar@gov.in
before 8th September, 2017,” it ordered.
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