Times
of India: Bhopal: Monday, 20 April 2015.
RTI crusader
Subhash Agarwal, whose query had led to the shocking revelation in 2012 that
former President Pratibha Patil had packed off 150 official gifts to a museum
in her hometown Amravati, on Sunday dropped a bombshell during his Bhopal
visit, calling the Supreme Court a "duffer legal authority of India".
"Not
just administrative part of judiciary, but the judiciary itself should also be
covered under RTI Act," he said.
The
information tool in Madhya Pradesh is a victim of the apathy of state
government and information commission, said the RTI activist.
Agarwal also
criticised the state information commission for dismissing a petition to bring
political parties, including BJP under the radar of RTI Act. The petition by
activist Ajay Dubey was dismissed despite the Central commission's order to
bring political parties under RTI. "BJP is one of six political parties
which come under ambit of RTI and has been declared a public authority because
of getting tax exemption," he said.
The meeting
was organised to discuss the role of government and administration in the
implementation of the RTI Act in the state.
Speaking on
the occasion, former state chief secretary KS Sharma emphasised on the need for
a strong law to protect whistle blower and demanded setting up a RTI cell to
supervise enquiries.
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