RTI in politics

Bringing political parties within the fold of law will not help

The petition before the Supreme Court to bring political parties within the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeks the wrong solution to a valid problem. The petitioners, including non-government organisation (NGO) Association for Democratic Reforms, have asked the court to declare political parties “public authority” under the RTI Act, 2005. This reflects a misreading of the objective of this law, which was to enhance transparency and accountability in government to check corruption and maximise the spirit of democratic governance. The premise is that citizens pay tax, so they have the right to know how their money is