New Delhi:
This is the second term of the UPA and till now we have always seen Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, the UPA chairperson, working in perfect harmony but NDTV has learnt that there is one issue that they disagree, on that of RTI amendments.
It's a rare occasion when the Prime Minister has stood firm and refused Congress president Sonia Gandhi's request.
In a letter to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi the PM says that RTI amendments are necessary. This in response to Mrs Gandhi writing to him against it.
Sonia Gandhi had written to the PM two months ago saying that she is: "Of the firm opinion, like that of the NGOs that there should be no amendments in the RTI Act and the existing Act should properly implemented."
But the PM wrote back saying: There is a "...need for RTI amendments" but "...all stakeholders will be consulted", all stakeholders will be consulted before the amendments are moved."
The PM explains in his letter explains the need for changes in the RTI:
- Apprehensions of the judiciary have to be taken up
- Need to streamline the act and make it more people friendly
The RTI is one of the legal entitlements for the aam aadmi and Sonia Gandhi has been in the forefront to ensure that there is no dilution in the Act.
It is very rare for the PM to say no, that too to Sonia Gandhi, for getting the RTI amendment. And it is a long battle to get it through Parliament.
So what are the points of differences between the two most powerful people in the UPA?
Sources say the proposed changes in the RTI Act are:- To exclude office of Chief Justice of India
- Don't make deliberations over a decision public
- Don't entertain frivolous/wasteful applications