Congress mulling amendments to RTI Act

To amplify the exclusion of political parties from the ambit of the Right to Information Act, the Congress is mulling the option of amending the flagship law.

To amplify the exclusion of political parties from the ambit of the Right to Information Act, the Congress is mulling the option of amending the flagship law.

Publicly the Congress maintained that the top leadership will decide the future course of action in the wake of the Central Information Commission (CIC)’s ruling that political parties are covered under the act. If finally the government brings amendment, it would be the first change in the flagship law.

Congress leaders hinted that the government may go for an amendment to make it clear that the law doesn’t cover the political parties.

Congress has already opposed the CIC’s verdict and termed it as an "adventurist" approach. Other parties like the CPI(M), JD(U) and NCP too, have expressed apprehension that the CIC’s order may harm the democratic institutions.

Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said that the CIC ruling was “fundamentally” wrong as political parties are already accountable to the Election Commission.

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CIC’s verdict on Monday said that as these national political parties were substantially financed by the Central government and the role played by the parties also point towards their public character, bringing them under ambit of section 2 (h) of the RTI Act. The government may bring amendments to bring more clarity in this clause.