RTI Act: 'Substantial funding' to be replaced by 51 percent, says Narayanasamy

Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy has said that an amendment to Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 will be proposed so that a public authority will be defined as those receiving governmental funding "above 51 per cent," in place of the present usage of "substantial funding."

In an interview to Outlook Magazine, Narayanasamy said that "substantial funding" means "above 51 percent," which the amendment seeks to clarify.

"Political parties are not public authorities. Public authorities have to disclose information to the common man. Because parties have received a one-time concession on land for building their offices, they should come under the Act-that's not the right way to look at the debate. Political parties are not substantially funded by the government-so, according to the clause defining public authorities in the Act, they are not public authorities. Substantial funding means above 51 per cent, which is not the case with political parties," Narayanasamy said.

The amendment will allow political parties to evade the ambit of the RTI Act, 2005.

On August 2, the Union Cabinet had given its nod to keep political parties out of the RTI Act, saying that they are not public authorities.

Narayanasamy added, in his interview to Outlook Magazine, that Clause 2 (h) of the Act is likely to be modified via an amendment.

"Yes, that's what we are looking at. We have consulted other political parties and we have come to the conclusion that a political party is a private entity and therefore cannot come under the ambit of the Act," Narayanasamy said.

The proposed amendment would mean that educational institution and hospitals, amongst several others who acquire land at subsidised rates and funding less than 51 percent may go out of the purview of the RTI Act.

Meanwhile, political parties have maintained that the Representation of the People Act and the Income Tax Act provide sufficient transparency regarding financial aspects of political parties.

In June, the Central Information Commission, which ensures the RTI Act is implemented and public queries are answered by government departments, ruled that the six major national parties, including the Congress and BJP are public authorities and must respond to RTI applications. The parties were given six weeks to appoint Public Information Officers (PIOs) to handle RTI requests.

The decision from transparency watchdog evoked sharp reactions from political parties, especially Congress which has been credited with bringing in the transparency law but is opposed to the CIC's directive.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which acts as nodal department for the implementation of the RTI Act, in consultation with Law Ministry had earlier decided to amend the law.