Business Standard: New Delhi: Thursday,
May 19, 2016.
Congress
today sought four weeks time from the Central Information Commission to respond
to a notice issued to its President Sonia Gandhi on a complaint filed by an
activist on issues including donations to the party even as it questioned why
she is targeted.
In a response
filed by treasurer Motilal Vora, the party also asked the Commission to revisit
its order bringing the party under RTI in the light of a Supreme Court
judgement.
The party
cited the apex court judgement to claim that merely providing subsidies,
grants, exemptions, privileges, etc. To a body cannot be brought under the
definition of "substantial funding" for a body to exist and be
answerable under RTI.
The party
also claimed that an RTI amendment bill was introduced to keep political
parties out of the ambit of the transparency law.
However,
under the law, the CIC cannot review its decision and its orders can only be
challenged through a writ petition before the High Courts or Supreme Court.
During a full
bench hearing at the Commission, counsel for Congress K C Mittal said Gandhi was
being targeted in isolation as there are five other parties which were declared
public authorities by the CIC.
He also said
that complainant R K Jain has provided him new information which needs to be
considered before giving its further response for which he needs four weeks of
time. The Commission has fixed next date of hearing on June 20.
Jain told the
Bench comprising Information Commissioners--Sridhar Acharyulu, Sudhir Bhargava
and Bimal Julka--that he has already moved an application on May 16 to include
Chiefs of BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI and CPM in the matter.
He also said
since Congress has not named any one in the party who should be responsible for
answering RTI queries, the notices were sent to its President.
He also
annexed a letter from Election Commission of April 1, 2016 in which it had
transferred a separate RTI application to the "The President, Indian
National Congress..." to buttress his point that the party was considered
a public authority even by the Election Commission.
The matter
related to RTI application filed by Jain with Congress in February, 2014
seeking details of financing, donations, elections in the party among other
details.
It was not
responded to following which he approached CIC with a complaint under the RTI
Act against the party. He also approached Delhi High Court seeking directions
for the CIC to hear his petition.
The
Commission recently issued fresh notice to Gandhi after the orders of the Delhi
High Court which had directed in August 2014 that the "complaint filed by
the petitioner be considered expeditiously and preferably within a period of
six months".
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