RTI & CPA:
A City consumer forum has ruled that Complaints on RTI cannot be entertained under the Consumer Protection Act.
RTI & Political Parfies:
Political Parties, including the Congress and BJP, have ignored a four-week deadline set by the Central Information Commission (CIC) and could be liable for Rs. 25,000 fine or even de-registration.
The Commission had issued a showcause notice on 7th February to six national political parties – Congress, BJP, NCP, BSP, CPI and CPM – seeking an explanation on why they had not complied with its 3rd June order which mandated that the six parties came under the Information Act and must appoint public information officers to respond to RTI queries.
A full bench of the Commission had declared that the six political parties were substantially funded indirectly by the Central Government and they had the character of public authority under the RTI Act as they performed public functions.
The Commission had given them six weeks to comply with the RTI Act but so far none of the parties has followed the direction, prompting RTI activist Subhash Agrawal, who was one of the petitioners in the case, to file three non-compliance complaints before it.
Agrawal said the Commission should hold an early hearing and recommend stringent action, including deregistration of the parties, by the Election Commission.
The CIC can also fine the parties up to Rs. 25,000. The CIC inaction has been preceded by the government bringing a bill to exclude political parties from the ambit of RTI Act. Though the bill was tabled in Lok Sabha and received support from a House panel, it was finally not taken up.
The stringent opposition to “weakening” the Act and the message that political parties were against transparency led to the bill being put on hold. However, the CIC has dragged its feet in taking any action against parties clearly in violation its own order. (Courtesy: Times of India dated 10-03-2014)
Congress Manifesto:
Congress will release its election manifesto on 21st March; a document that the party believes will win it votes in the tough battle. Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to release the manifesto in the company of her son, Rahul.
One key issue is of reservation in the private sector, a poll promise from Congress in UPA-2. Congress also wants to hammer home its rights based approach like RTI, NREGA, etc., by promising those on health, pension and sanitation.
Maharashtra Information Commission:
With the appointment of new IC, Maharashtra now has 7 IC as under:
Maharashtra Information Commissioners
1. Ratnakar Gaikwad – Chief Commissioner, Mumbai
2. Ravindra Jadhav – Amravati
3. D. B. Deshpande – Aurangabad
4. Ms. T. F. Thekekara – Konkan
5. Ajitkumar Jain – Greater Mumbai
6. P. W. Patil – Nasik
7. M. H. Shah – Pune
