People’s outrage at political parties’ opposition to the Central Information Commission order, bringing them within the purview of the RTI Act, is amusing. The objective of the legislators in enacting the RTI Act was to make the functioning of government institutions transparent. It was not to empower people to question the private decisions of political parties.
Parties are indeed voluntary organisations. The reasoning that by virtue of income tax exemptions and land allotment at concessional rates, they come under the RTI Act is misconceived. Hundreds of charitable organisations get income tax exemptions and land allotment at concessional rates. Do they fall within the purview of the RTI Act? It is time we stopped bashing the political class and stopped enjoying the embarrassment faced by it. This class might not have acted as per our expectations but it has kept the engine of democracy moving.
Bhushan Lal Shishoo,
Jaipur
