Interestingly, the disagreement between them came to the fore through an RTI application. Activist SC Agarwal has obtained copies of the correspondence between the two.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Manmohan Singh are not in sync with each other over the Right to Information (RTI) Act. While the prime minister (PM) is open to ‘revisiting’ the act to protect the independence of the higher judiciary, Gandhi is firmly against any dilution of the original form.
Interestingly, the disagreement between them came to the fore through an RTI application. Activist SC Agarwal has obtained copies of the correspondence between the two.
In a letter dated November 10, 2009, Gandhi wrote to the PM making a strong pitch against any dilution or amendment of the legislation. She has repeatedly hailed it as “one of the most efficient pieces of legislation that has made governments more responsive”.
“While there are problems of proper implementation, the RTI Act has begun to change the lives of our people and the ways of governance… It will, of course, take time before the momentum generated by the act makes for greater transparency and accountability… But the process has begun and it must be strengthened,” she wrote.
Further, she said, “It is important that we adhere strictly to its (the act’s) original aims and refrain from accepting or introducing changes in the legislation or the way it is implemented that would dilute its purpose. There is no need for changes or amendments.”
While the PM agreed to Gandhi’s suggestion to improve dissemination of information under the act, he seemed out of tune with her suggestion regarding amen-ding it. Citing issues in the act that need to be revisited, the PM wrote to Gandhi on December 24, 2009: “The act doesn’t provide for the constitution of central information commission (CIC) benches, though this is how the business of the commission is being conducted”.
The chief justice of India (CJI) has pointed out that the independence of the higher judiciary needs to be safeguarded in the implementation of the act. There are some issues relating to cabinet papers and internal discussions.”
The PM assured Gandhi of not proceeding with any amendments without consultation with all stakeholders.
RTI activists, meanwhile, feel the PM’s arguments for amending the legislation are “flawed”. “I fully concur with the Congress president. It is unfortunate that the government is trying to dilute the act using flawed arguments,’’ said noted RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.
Rebutting the issues raised by the PM, Kejriwal said, “As far as the CJI’s apprehensions are concerned, they have been suitably dealt with in the Delhi high court’s judgment which says that the judiciary is under the ambit of the act. Unfortunately, apart from the CJI, all other judges, including most previous CJIs, feel that bringing the judiciary under RTI would enhance its image.”
Further, Kejriwal said, the issue of the CIC conducting its business through benches has also been settled in favour of the act through various judgements pronounced by high courts across the country.
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