The Quint: National: Friday, June 01, 2018.
In April this
year, it was reported in the media that Sachin Tendulkar, a former Rajya Sabha
MP, donated his entire salary and allowances he earned during his Rajya Sabha
stint to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). Factly sought to
know the quantum of the donation and filed an RTI application with the Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO has now refused to share any information about
the donation citing the privacy clause in the RTI act.
Sachin
Tendulkar as Rajya Sabha MP
As Factly
reported previously, Sachin Tendulkar rarely attended the Rajya Sabha during
his 6-year tenure and rarely participated in the proceedings of the house. His
attendance was a mere 7 percent by the time his tenure finished. He asked 22
questions and did not participate in any debate. He was supposed to initiate a
short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on 21 December 2017 on sports, his
first in six years. But he could not because of the disruptions in the house.
He did make good utilisation of his MPLAD funds though and recommended works to
the tune of more than Rs 30 crore.
His
Donation & the PMO’s Response
In April this
year, it was reported that Sachin Tendulkar donated his entire salary to the
PMNRF. Factly sought to know the quantum of donation and filed an RTI with the
PMO. The PMO refused to share any information and responded by saying that the
information sought is exempted under Sec 8(1)(j) of the RTI act.
What is
Problematic With This Response of the PMO?
Sec 8(1)(j)
of the RTI act states that ‘information which relates to personal information,
the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest,
or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual”
should not be disclosed “unless the Central Public Information Officer or the
State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may
be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of
such information.”
But in this
case, the information that the donation was made and the approximate amount of
donation is already in the public domain through media stories. In fact, the
media also made a mention of a letter of acknowledgment from the PMO along with
text of such a letter. It is outright irrational to assume that part of the
information that is already in the public domain would cause unwarranted
invasion of privacy of an individual.
Moreover, the
amount donated by Sachin Tendulkar is not his personal wealth, but the salary
he earned as a MP. So the larger public interest also justifies such a
disclosure. There is no reason for the PMO to hide such information and raises
doubts about the quantum of the donation.
(This story
was first published by Factly. It has been republished with permission.)