Election Commission provides no information about political parties

LUCKNOW: With even the Election Commission of India saying they can not provide information about the political parties, whom to turn to?
The Union cabinet's decision to amend the RTI Act to keep the political parties out of its purview has already raised the RTI activists up in arms. What has further added to the discontent is the inability of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to provide information about the political parties.
The government, while advocating the amendment of the RTI Act vis-a-vis the political parties, said that any information about the political parties can be sought from the Election Commission of India but now activists have been denied the information by the ECI as well saying the parties are private bodies.
The Delhi-based RTI activist Subhash Agrawal asked the ECI to provide information about the six state political parties Samajwadi Party, All India Trinamool Congress, DMK, AIDMK, JD (U) and SAD with respect to electoral reforms proposals sent to these parties by the government and ECI, details regarding land allotment by the government to these parties, contributions made to the party fund by party members and legislators involved in corrupt practice.
The applicant had specifically requested the ECI to provide information by seeking the same from the parties under provisions of Section 2(f) of the RTI Act which says that the information to be provided by the public authority includes "information relating to a private body which can be accessed by the public authority under any other law for the time being in force".
"Post CIC verdict dated June 3 bringing political parties under the purview of the RTI Act, political parties are regularly crying about they being accountable to ECI," said Agrawal.
Therefore, it becomes a test-case for ECI to seek desired information from the parties, he added. The ECI, on the other hand, said that the political parties are private bodies not covered under the RTI Act. It also said that the RTI Act does not provide that information should be made available to the applicant after being collected from the parivate bodies.
In response to the first appeal, the applicant was told that only the national parties have been declared the public authorities for the purpose of the RTI Act. "The CIC's decision does not cover the state parties," said the first appellate authority of the ECI.
The appellate authority also said there is no requirement for the parties to inform the ECI about their internal discussions, as sought by the applicant. The response of the ECI has not convinced the activists.
"Before amending RTI Act to keep political parties out of its purview, government should ensure that people may get required information concerning political parties from ECI Commission and other concerned public-authorities under provisions of section 2(f) of RTI Act," said Agrawal.