Parties under RTI

You can now directly ask political parties from where they get their cash reserves flowing. Setting a new bench mark in transparency in politics, the Central Information Commission on Monday held political parties answerable under the Right to Information Act, thus taking an exemplary step in ensuring corruption-free politics.

A full bench of the CIC comprising chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra and information commissioners M L Sharma and Annapurna Dixit held six parties — the Congress, the BJP, the CPM, the CPI, the NCP and the BSP — to whom RTI queries were directed, fulfill the criteria of being public authorities under the Right to Information Act.

‘The presidents, general secretaries of these parties are hereby directed to designate CPIOs (chief public information officers) and appellate authorities at their headquarters in six weeks. The CPIOs so appointed will respond to RTI applications extracted in this order in four weeks time,’ the bench directed.

The bench also instructed the parties to comply with the provisions of mandatory proactive disclosures clauses given under the RTI Act and put those details on their websites.

The case relates to RTI queries from activist Subhash Agrawal and Anil Bairwal of Association of Democratic Reforms who had sought to know the finances of voluntary financial contributions received by these six parties as well as the names and addresses of the donors besides other details, which were refused as the political parties claimed they do not come under the RTI Act.

During the hearing, Bairwal raised three principal points justifying his arguments that parties were under the RTI Act—indirect substantial financing by the central government, performance of public duty and constitutional and legal provisions vesting them with rights and liabilities.

‘Large tracts of land in prime areas of Delhi have been placed at the disposal of the political parties in question at exceptionally low rates. Besides, huge government accommodations have been placed at the disposal of political parties at hugely cheap rates thereby bestowing financial benefits on them,’ it said.

The bench held the income tax exemptions granted to the parties and free air time given by All India Radio and Doordarshan at the time of elections also substantially contribute to indirect financing from the government.

‘We have no hesitation in concluding that INC/AICC, BJP, CPM, CPI, NCP and BSP have been substantially financed by the central government and therefore they are held to be public authorities under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act,’  the bench ordered.

On the performing of public duty point raised by Bairwal, the CIC held that political parties ‘affect the lives of the citizens, directly or indirectly in every conceivable way and are continuously engaged in performing public duty. It is, therefore, important that they become accountable to public.’

‘Political parties are the unique institution of the modern constitutional state. These are essentially political institution and are non-governmental. The uniqueness lies in the fact that in spite of being non-governmental, they come to wield or directly and indirectly influence exercise of governmental power,’ the bench held.