Ballot box alone is not the forum

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BALLOT BOX ALONE IS NOT THE FORUM

By Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Political parties have no business to oppose their coming
under the Right to Information ambit. They draw benefits
from the public exchequer and are very much accountable
to the people

Political parties have been unanimous in voicing their
resentment to the Central Information Commission�s
verdict placing them within the purview of the Right to
Information Act. Politicians are regularly changing their
stance from welcoming the verdict to terming it a
publicity-seeking adventurist approach aimed to strike at
the democratic set-up of the country!

Apprehensions expressed by the political parties about
the possible outcome of the verdict are based on the
total lack of knowledge among the parties about the
provisions of the Act.

Therefore, most leaders commenting on the CIC order are
doing so without even� acquainting themselves with the
provisions of the RTI Act.

For starters, they should concentrate on Section
2(h)(d)(i) of the Act, which defines a public authority
as a �body owned, controlled or substantially financed
directly or indirectly by funds provided by the
appropriate Government�, to judge for themselves if they
are covered by the RTI Act or not.

Morality demands that political parties criticising the
verdict should voluntary surrender land and bungalows the
Government has provided� them at highly subsidised rates
and lease, besides making a declaration that they will
not avail any Government facility like news space on All
India Radio and Doordarshan, tax concessions etc.

Continues at:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/ballot-box-alone-is-not-the-forum.html

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

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