‘Parties Are Private Entities’

The UPA government is spearheading—through a proposed amendment—the move for excluding political parties from the ambit of the RTI Act. Excerpts from an inter­view with Union minister of state for Personnel V. Narayanasamy:

Why is the Congress, the prime mover of the RTI Act, so opposed to coming under the purview of the Act?

Political parties are not public authorities. Public authorities have to disclose information to the common man. Because parties have received a one-time concession on land for building their offices, they should come under the Act—that’s not the right way to look at the debate. Political parties are not substantially funded by the government—so, according to the clause defining public authorities in the Act, they are not public authorities. Substantial funding means above 51 per cent, which is not the case with political parties.

But that is a literal definition from the Act. How about a liberal definition, in keeping with its spirit?

Well, political parties are subject to the scrutiny of the income-tax authorities and they have to submit their accounts to the Election Commission. Political parties are private entities. Any party which receives Rs 20,000 and above has to submit its acc­o­unts to the Election Commission. Tell me, can private entities be asked to disclose their funding?

How do you tackle the perception that the Congress and other parties are wary of the RTI Act for themselves but are okay when it is applied to others? And how do you tackle the perception that corruption and politics go hand in hand?

This perception is not real. We have to go by ground realities. The government is trying to control corruption. The Congress government, under Manmohan Singh, has taken steps to fast-track corruption cases. The Lokpal Bill is in Rajya Sabha. The National Disclosures Act is on the anvil. The Whistleblowers Bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha and we are committed to a time-bound passage of the Service Providers Bill. The so-called NGOs and civil society members do not contest elections. A politician does, and it’s only when he is seen to be working for five years does he get recognition and he is elected.

So you are looking to amend Clause 2 (h) of the RTI Act?

Yes, that’s what we are looking at. We have consulted other political parties and we have come to the conclusion that a political party is a private entity and therefore cannot come under the ambit of the Act.