If Sources to be believed, the Union Government is likely to reach out to opposition parties seeking their support in clearing the passage for Right to Information Amendment Bill in the Upper House of the Parliament, Rajya Sabha.
Union Government may start talks with United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairman Sonia Gandhi, who is among those leading the opposition parties. She had also called a meeting of Opposition in parties and it was decided to demand in Rajya Sabha that seven out of the 16 bills should be sent to the Standing committee of the parliament.
The Lower House of the Parliament, Lok Sabha, on Tuesday, cleared the bill approving changes in Right to Information, amid massive of Oppositions that alleged that it was an attempt to undermine the law and make the transparency panel into a ‘toothless tiger’.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State (MoS) Jitendra Singh said the amendment in the bill is aimed at institutionalization, streamlining and ease of delivery of RTI Act.
The Right to Information Amendment Bill also sought to allow the Union Government to decide on the term and salaries of state and central information commissioners.
Lauding his previous government, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had said the Right to Information Act 2005 was one of the most monumental moves of the country’s democratic governance in recent years. Tharoor slammed the government saying that bill its not an RTI (Amendment) Bill but an RTI (Elimination) Bill.
Earlier this week, Sonia Gandhi slammed the Union Government for making changes in the Right to Information Bill. Calling it as a matter of utmost concern, Sonia Gandhi in a statement said, ‘The Central Government may use its legislative majority to achieve its aims but in the process, it would be disempowering each and every citizen of our country’.
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