House committee to look at RTI Bill amendment

NEW DELHI: Pressure of public opinion and protests by activists forced the government to shelve its plan to exclude political parties from the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and refer the proposed amendment to a parliamentary committee.

The perception that Parliament is on the wrong side of popular opinion and a realization that the amendment may fall foul of the courts for being constitutionally flawed caused a last-minute change of heart. The shift came after BJP leaders told parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath that the amendment should be referred to a committee. It needed more detailed consideration.

The proposed amendment — which said parties don't meet criteria for public authorities under RTI — was felt to be ill-defined. "We told the government that lawmakers excluding themselves from RTI doesn't send the right signal," leader of opposition in LS Sushma Swaraj said.

The argument that parties don't receive government support and don't meet the criteria for being public authorities is seen as shaky for clubs don't have exemption. Recently, the CIC held a central Delhi club to be covered by RTI as it receives concessions by way of land — privileges similar to those political parties enjoy. It was felt the CIC could clarify that RTI would relate to funding of political parties and not candidate selection or innerparty discussions, as being argued by those opposing the ombudsman's order.

The BJP move came as a boost to efforts of TMC, BJD, National Conference and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha leaders who have been opposing the amendment. After Kamal Nath's meeting with BJP leaders, MoS, personnel, V Narayanasamy informed LS that to seek wider consultations, the government was recommending the bill to the Standing Committee on Law and Personnel. The amendment seeks to insert an explanation in Section 2 of the Act which says any association or body of individuals registered or recognized as a political party under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, won't be considered a public authority.

Some questions 

Parties are required to declare their income to the IT department and also provide details of any person or company donating more than Rs 20,000. This information is now in the public domain thanks to the use of RTI by various individuals and groups including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The information obtained by ADR shows that most of India's biggest corporate do not figure on the list of donors supplied by the parties. Yet, anecdotal evidence suggests big business does contribute huge sums, often to several parties. So, if that is being concealed today, despite the law, why should extending RTI to parties change the situation?

According to the information obtained by ADR, barring the Congress, no other party in India had a total income of even Rs 1,000 crore over a seven-year period from 2004-05 to 2010-11. That means less than Rs 145 crore a year. How do we reconcile this with the fact that some state assembly election or the other is being fought each year and national elections at least every five years by these parties?

Again, anecdotal evidence is that the money spent on each candidate runs into sums ranging from tens of lakhs to crores in different states. How does this square with the declared income?

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com