Political Parties Under RTI

A public debate is going on regarding the applicability of RTI act in the functioning of national political parties so as to make them transparent as well as accountable to the people of India. RTI act was enacted in 1995 to make every public authority transparent and accountable. Here public authority means any institution which is in the business of governing the people and is funded by government. By that act, every political party whether national or state, should fall under this act to disclose information regarding financial or other functional matters, whenever sought by the public.

But with our utter surprise, we see every major political parties including Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India etc. all are united in opposing the Central Information Commission’s order to implement the prohibitions of RTI act  in the functioning of the political parties so as to make it more transparent & accountable. Look at their logic in opposing the order, congress party says, there is no RTI law applicable to political parties in some advanced democratic countries like the US, Great Britain, etc. So why should it be applicable to us? Communist party widens their eyes & says, how come other political parties can know our political  strategy? It is competitive politics. The Bharatiya Janata Party is very cautious in their approach though they oppose the order.

Corruption and malfunction are the order of the day. Every political party is indulging in this process. The recent expose of scams like 2G, Coal-gate etc. have shaken the public conscience. Nobody in this country believes them whole-heartedly. Public of India has the right to know, how these political parties function, from where they get their funding and how they spent it.

 It is wise to suggest that RTI act should be applicable to all political parties throughout the country except in J & K and NGOs which are substaintially funded by government and other international agencies.             .