Wendell Rodricks asks president not to pass RTI ordinance

Renowned fashion designer Wendell Rodricks has appealed to President Pranab Mukherjee not to endorse a central government-sponsored ordinance aimed at amending the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

In a letter to the president dispatched Wednesday, the Goa-based Rodricks has said that if he does decide to endorse the ordinance, which counters a recent Chief Information Commissioner's (CIC) ruling bringing six political parties under the RTI Act, then the president's office should spell out the reasons for the decision.

"The ostensible purpose is to counter the decision of the CIC declaring six political parties "public authorities" subject to the Right to Information Act," Rodricks said in his letter to Mukherjee.

The designer has also questioned the hurry with which the ordinance was being promulgated.

"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," Rodricks has said.

"If you do issue the said ordinance, I am hoping you will share the reasons for the immediate action with citizens," the designer said in his letter.