Business Standard: New Delhi: Friday, August 02, 2013.
While the
government is contemplating changes in the Right to Information (RTI) act, think
tank Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has urged lawmakers not to
support the proposed amendments.
According to
government sources, amendments in RTI act are on the cards to ensure political
parties do not come under the act. Reports say the department of personnel and
training has finalised a cabinet note on the amendments.
In an appeal
to all Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members, ADR and its sister organisation,
National Election Watch (NEW), urged members of parliament not to "support
such a bill if introduced in parliament".
"By not
supporting this bill, you will be supporting citizens and will become an
advocate of transparency and accountability," the appeal said.
All state
coordinators of state election watch teams have signed the letter. This demand
is supported by over 1,200 organisations, members of National Election Watch.
While saying
that the same government had passed the RTI act and hailed it as a landmark
legislation since its enactment, the statement said bringing political parties
under RTI will be "a step forward in the same direction to ensure
accountability by all political platforms to the citizens of India".
"The
suspicion that this may be detrimental to the internal functioning and
strategies of the political parties is completely misplaced. On the contrary,
lack of information about the political parties leads to disconnect between the
parties and the common man," it added.
Following a
petition by ADR and RTI activist S.C. Agrawal, the Central Information
Commission (CIC) had ruled that political parties are public authorities who
now need to respond to RTI queries within six weeks.
Six national
parties -- the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Nationalist Congress Party,
Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India and Bahujan Samaj
Party -- would come under RTI, according to the CIC decision.