The right to information was brought about in course under the Right to Information Act, 2015. Since its emergence, it has always been in wide controversy as to what can primarily be under its ambit and what should be restricted from declaration to the public. India has the world’s largest democracy and in consonance to that, it is pertinent for the people voting under Universal Adult Suffrage to know as to who they are voting for and what are they standing in favour of.
This is where the importance of bringing political parties under the ambit of Right to information is recognised. The political parties are essentially the representatives of the people one of whom as an end result will form the government. The widespread existence of corruption in the current scenario especially when it comes politics and the government is a matter of concern. In condition to that, if the political parties are not brought under the check of right to information, a big loophole will be mastered where the ongoing debit and credit of funding money for these parties will never be tracked.
In the ongoing Supreme Court case on the same issue, the counsel for the petitioner’s side Prashant Bhushan had questioned that national political parties are virtually funded by the state. This is so because these parties are exempted from filing income tax returns. On a calculative basis, if the parties were required to file such tax returns 35 percent of their funding would have gotten used up for the same which would have been a major hit to their funding programs. In conclusion to this fact, we can say that these parties are essentially government funded and thus can come under the RTI scope.
Right to Information is a major tool for bringing about transparency. It is about giving the residents of this country a true picture of where their development is heading. It gives them a kaleidoscopic view of their growth and future. Since political parties form such an important aspect of this growth and development, the public by all means should be provided with full awareness in their respect. Accountability to the voters who are inducing power in these government agents is important which was the major reason of consideration of them under the RTI ambit.
By-
– Surbhi Jaju, 3rd Year, National Law Institute University, Bhopal –