Kashmir Times: New delhi: Monday, September 30, 2013.
In a first,
the government has put a 'secret' Cabinet note on its proposal to keep
political parties out of the ambit of Right to Information Act in public
domain.
The note,
which was formed on July 23 following a decision by Central Information
Commission to bring six political parties BJP, Congress, NCP, CPI-M, CPI and
BSP under the ambit of transparency law, has been put up on Ministry of
Personnel's website.
"During
the process of enactment of the RTI Act, it was never visualised or considered
to bring the political parties within the ambit of the said Act. If the
political parties are held to be public authorities under the RTI Act, it would
hamper their smooth internal working.
"Further,
it is apprehended that political rivals might file RTI applications with
malicious intentions to the Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) of the
political parties, thereby adversely affecting their political functioning,"
the note reads.
The CIC had
in its order on June 3 held that the six political parties were public
authorities and come under the purview of RTI Act. The CIC order had evoked
sharp reactions from political parties, especially Congress which has been
credited with bringing in the transparency law.
On the basis
of Personnel Ministry's note, the Union Cabinet had last month cleared a
proposal to amend the RTI Act.
The Right to
Information (Amendment) Bill 2013 was introduced on August 12 in the Lok Sabha
by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V
Narayanasamy.
It was,
however, referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public
Grievances, Law and Justice headed by Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik for wider
consultations.
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