Amendment to RTI Act, 2005 will be contempt of assurance given in Parliament: Lokesh Batra

RTI activist Commodore Lokesh Batra has written a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee in which he has said that amendment to RTI Act, 2005 will be contempt of assurance given in Parliament.

"On 05 July 2009, the then Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions had assured the Parliament in a written response to a question that the 'Non-Governmental Organisations and Social activists' will be consulted before any amendment to the RTI Act, 2005," he said in his letter to President Mukherjee.

Commodore Batra told President Mukherjee there are media reports that the Government is contemplating to counter the decision of the CIC declaring six political parties as Public authorities which are subject to the Right to Information Act by amending the RTI Act, 2005.

"The representatives of all political parties have stated that they believe the CIC decision is unsound legally and hence they are opposing it. If they are being truthful, they can certainly go in a writ to the Courts. In the past CIC decisions have been quashed by the Courts," said Commodore Batra.

"In the instant case I cannot see any reason which justifies any amendment to the RTI Act, 2005 by the Government and that too without consulting all the stakeholders/ Citizenry at large that include 'Non-Governmental Organisations and Social activists'," he added.

Commodore Batra in his letter requested President Mukherjee to communicate to the Government not to undertake any amendment to the RTI Act, 2005 without consulting all the stakeholders i.e. Citizenry at large that include 'Non-Governmental Organisations and Social activists', as assured in the Parliament lest it becomes contempt of assurance given in the Parliament.