NEW DELHI: The government is slated to introduce a bill to amend the RTI Act excluding political parties from the ambit of the law in LokSabha on Monday.
The bill will be introduced by minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions V Narayanasamy. The bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet on August 1 and has been under fire from eminent citizens and RTI activists.
The Cabinet’s decision had come nearly two months after the Central Information Commission’s order of bringing six national political parties – Congress, BJP, NCP, CPM, CPI and BSP – under the RTI Act.
The government may propose an amendment in Section 2 of the Act, which defines public authority, to shield political parties, official sources said. The proposed amendments will make it clear that the definition of public authority shall not include any political party registered under the Representation of the Peoples Act, they said.
The decision to amend the RTI Act was taken by the ministry of personnel, which acts as the nodal department for implementation of the Act, in consultation with the law ministry and was based on consensus of all political parties, sources said.