CIC 8216;exceeded brief8217; in defining parties: Karat

After having opposed the Central Information Commissions ruling that political parties are to be treated as public authorities and should come under the purview of the RTI Act,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat on Friday said the CIC has exceeded its brief by setting out a new definition of political parties and asked the Government to amend the Act.

After having opposed the Central Information Commissions ruling that political parties are to be treated as public authorities and should come under the purview of the RTI Act,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat on Friday said the CIC has exceeded its brief by setting out a new definition of political parties and asked the Government to amend the Act.

When Parliament adopted the Right to Information Act in 2005,which was supported by the CPIM too,the intention of Parliament was not to bring political parties as public authorities under its purview. Therefore,it is necessary for the government to discuss with all the political parties and get the necessary clarification incorporated in the RTI Act itself by Parliament, he has written in an article which will appear in the forthcoming issue of party mouthpiece Peoples Democracy.

He argued that the CIC has exceeded its brief under the RTI Act by setting out a new definition of political parties. The step taken by the CIC to extend the purview of the RTI Act by declaring that a political party is a public authority is misconceived and wrong. This order stems from a lack of understanding and a basic misconception about the role of political parties in a parliamentary democracy, he has said.

Explaining his partys position Karat said political parties are not governmental organisations or state funded entities. They are an association of citizens who come together voluntarily to form a party on the basis of a particular ideology,programme and leadership. Besides,there is no constitutional provision for a political party. Therefore,to term these political parties as public authorities on the ground that they are substantially financed directly or indirectly by the government or the state power is fundamentally wrong. It blurs the distinction and mixes up the role and functions of the political parties with those of the government and the government-sponsored organisations, he said.