RTI DAY TODAY
Political parties wary of RTI queries posed to them
Fear Misuse Of Act From Rivals
Neha Shukla TNN
Lucknow: After nine years of the Right to Information Act being
implemented and becoming a potent tool for the common man,the
government said it was never visualised or considered to bring
political parties under its ambit.In the cabinet note on the proposal
to amend the RTI Act to keep political parties out of its ambit,the
Centre said, 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."
The government has further expressed fear that if political parties
are held to be public authorities under the RTI Act,it would hamper
their smooth internal working as political rivals might file RTI
applications with malicious intentions to the CPIOs of the political
parties,adversely affecting thereby their political functioning.
What was so far an achievement to boast about for the Congress,till
the latest decision of the Central Information Commission (CIC) to
bring six national parties under the RTI ambit,has turned into
something to be wary of.
In the state assembly elections 2012,Rahul Gandhi,at all his
rallies,had harped on the Centre's two path-breaking schemesthe
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the
Right To Information Actand counted them as game-changers for UPA.
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha election,however,it may not be possible
for him to refer to the two schemes as Centre's achievements.Reason:
MGNREGS has already been shown as ailing in the CAG report and RTI is
what UPA-II is itself trying to clamp down upon by way of the most
recent amendment to keep political parties out of the RTI ambit.
What,however,adds to the Centre's discomfort is that political parties
are still under the ambit of the RTI Act.I have filed a non-compliance
with the Central Information Commission, said Delhi-based RTI activist
Subhash Agrawal,on whose complaint the CIC had passed the June 3 order
saying the national parties are covered under the RTI Act.In such a
case till the Centre comes up with the amendment or gets a stay from
the court,political parties are covered under the RTI Act as mentioned
in the order of the Central Information Commission.
Union cabinet's decision to amend the RTI Act to keep the political
parties out of its purview has already raised the RTI activists up in
arms.The RTI amendment bill has been referred to the parliamentary
standing committee after the protest grew stronger.
The activists said,some of those who have participated in the
deliberations of the committee have been instructed to not share the
discussions in the meeting with outsiders.I had sought information
about electoral reforms but political parties linked it to funding and
made it sensational, said Agrawal.The government,while advocating the
amendment of the RTI Act vis--vis the political parties,said any
information about the political parties can be sought from the
Election Commission of India,Agrawal was denied information from the
ECI as well,on the ground that political parties are private bodies
not covered under the RTI Act.
The cabinet note on the proposal to amend the RTI Act said that CIC
has made a very liberal interpretation of Section 2(h) of the RTI
Act,leading to an erroneous conclusion that political parties are
public authorities under the RTI Act;political parties are not
established or constituted by or under the Constitution or by any
other law made by parliament.The political parties have never been
forthcoming in providing the information.RTI activist Sanjay Sharma
has filed applications with Samajwadi Party,Bahujan Samaj
Party,Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party seeking information
about the donations,but,has received no reply.Recently,I filed an
application with Aam Aadmi Party too.It has been started by RTI
activists and might not shy from providing the information, he said.
Meanwhile,this is not for the first time effort has been made to curb
the Act.In 2006,amendment was mulled in the Act to keep file noting
out of the RTI purview.In 2010,an amendment in the Act was discussed
yet again to keep frivolous and vexatious applications away.Had the
amendment come,government department would have rejected RTI
applications at their own sweet will.The activists raised an alarm and
amendments were put off.
UPS TRYST WITH RTI ACT
SURGING POPULARITY
Despite government departments lackadaisical attitude towards the RTI
Act,its popularity is surging in the state
In March 2006,UP state information commissions first year of
functioning,it received 6 RTI applications
Eight years after it,in March 2012,the number of RTI applications grew to 44,837
This is what only the commission received as complaints/appeals
There is no estimate available for hordes of RTI applications that
government departments mush have disposed of by now
SIC,at present,receives about 350 to 400 RTI applications everyday
STUMBLING BLOCKS IN UP
Biggest stumbling block is the attitude of the government
departments.The Act lays down that information should be provided
within 30 days to the seeker.But a survey taken up by an NGO shows
that six months is the average time taken to answer an RTI query in UP
by the government departments
Major RTI Expose in Uttar Pradesh
It brought to light mammoth bungling of funds under NRHM;Siphoning off
of MGNREGS funds;Scam worth 60 crore in the UP Seed Development
Corporation
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