Congress defends decision to amend RTI Act

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IANS New Delhi
Last Updated : Aug 02 2013 | 10:15 PM IST

The Congress Friday defended the cabinet's decision to amend the RTI Act to keep political parties out of its ambit, saying no action against the CIC order would result in a clash between the body implementing the transparency law and the poll panel.

"There would be a clash between the CIC and the Election Commission if (the CIC order) is allowed," Congress spokesperson Bhakta Charan Das told reporters.

"While the EC is a constitutional body, the CIC is not," he said adding that the poll panel was monitoring the activities of political parties.

The cabinet Thursday decided to amend the RTI Act to counter a CIC order which stated that political parties are public authorities and hence liable to disclose their accounts and other details under the RTI Act.

The political parties were united against the CIC order.

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First Published: Aug 02 2013 | 10:12 PM IST