Central Information Commission directive on RTI elicits guarded reactions

The ruling of the Central Information Commission that political parties are answerable under the Right to Information Act has elicited guarded comments from leaders of the ruling Congress party.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid wants a 'practical control' of RTI objectives and not allow them to 'run riot', and the Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has underlined the need to study and deliberate before giving an opinion.

Noting that the purpose of the RTI Act is to make public servants accountable to the world and to ordinary citizens, Khurshid today said it is important to keep a practical control of RTI objectives, as they cannot be allowed to 'run riot'.

Khurshid, who was commenting on the Central Information Commission's (CIC) decision holding that political parties are answerable to citizens under RTI, said 'there is a logic of RTI and this is reflected in its orders'.

"The logic will be gradually tested at various levels, including at the level of courts. And I think that we shouldn't be overtly sensitive to the evolving nature of RTI, but at the same time I think it is important to keep a practical control of RTI objectives because they cannot be allowed to run riot. The purpose is that people who handle public funds, who hold public office must be accountable to the world and to ordinary citizens," said Khurshid.

"There are other areas where you can still acquire ability to reach out and get information, but that has to go through other procedures and process. So, it's an evolving process. I think a balance between public interest of one kind and public interest of another kind must be maintained and this is what Supreme Court has said," he added.

Tewari said the CIC order needs to be properly perused and deliberated, and added that it would be very premature to take a view one way or the other at this point in time.

"The CIC has given an order with regard to political parties, bringing them under the purview of the Right to Information Act. The order obviously needs to be studied. Anything which has judicial connotations or legal connotations, it needs to be properly perused, it needs to be deliberated and only after a process of deliberation and an application of mind if at all there is a view which is formulated then that view is conveyed," said Tewari.

"At this point in time, I think it would be very premature to take a view one-way or the other," he added.

Setting a new bench mark in transparency in politics, the Central Information Commission yesterday held that political parties are answerable under the Right to Information Act.

A full bench of the Commission, comprising Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra and Information Commissioner M L Sharma and Annapurna Dixit, held six parties-Congress, BJP, CPI-M, CPI, NCP and BSP-to whom RTI queries were directed, fulfill the criteria of being public authorities under the Right to Information Act.

"The Presidents, General Secretaries of these parties are hereby directed to designate CPIOs and Appellate Authorities at their headquarters in six weeks. The CPIOs so appointed will respond to the RTI applications extracted in this order in four weeks time," the bench directed.

The bench, which set a new benchmark in transparency in politics, also directed them to comply with the provisions of mandatory proactive disclosures clauses given under the RTI Act and put those details on their websites.

The case relates to RTI queries from activist Subhash Agrawal and Anil Bairwal of Association of Democratic Reforms who had sought to know the finances of, voluntary financial contributions received by these six parties and the names and addresses of the donors besides other details which were refused as the political parties claimed they do not come under the RTI Act.

During the hearing, Bairwal raised three principal points justifying his arguments that parties were under the RTI Act-indirect substantial financing by the central government, performance of public duty and Constitutional and legal provisions vesting them with rights and liabilities.

"Large tracts of land in prime areas of Delhi have been placed at the disposal of the political parties in question at exceptionally low rates. Besides, huge government accommodations have been placed at the disposal of political parties at hugely cheap rates thereby bestowing financial benefits on them," it said.