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The Lok Sabha, on 22nd July 2019, has passed the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2019 which seeks to amend the RTI Act 2005. The motion to vote on bill was passed with 218 'yes' votes as against 79 'no' votes, announced Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The amendment bill proposes to change the period of office of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner from the current fixed term period of five years to "for such term as may be prescribed by the Central Government". Through amendments proposed to Section 16, the term of office of State Information Commissioners is also proposed to be curtailed.
Rule making power will be given to the Central Government to determine the pay, allowances and service conditions of Information Commissioner including their tenure by amending Section 27 of the Act. The Central Government will also be given power by virtue of this amendment, to fix the salary and allowances of Chief Information Commissioners and State Information Commissioners.
The present RTI Act provides the same status and privileges to the Election Commissioners and Information Officers in order to ensure that they function independently and autonomously. While the amendment bill requires the status and service conditions of the Election Commission of India and Central and State Information Commissions to be rationalized in accordance with their mandates.
Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, highlighted the difference between the Information Officers and the Election Commissioners while introducing the Bill and said that Information Commission was a statutory body and it would be an anomaly to equate it to a constitutional body like the Election Commission. If equal status is given to both, it would imply that Information Commissioners are at par with the Supreme Court Judges even when their orders could be challenged before the High Court. Thus, there is an apparent anomaly in the status of Information Commissioners.
Opposition MPs while expressing their reservations about the Bill demanded it to be sent to a standing committee. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the use of RTI made the government uncomfortable on many occasions and therefore it is keen to destroy the autonomy of the Information Commissions by introducing this ‘RTI Elimination Bill’. Professor Saugata Roy from the TMC, MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, A Raja from DMK, N K Premachandran from RSP, and others all spoke against the amendment Bill.
Minister Jitendra Singh responded by saying that the reservations expression by the opposition against the Bill were unfounded. The autonomy of the Information Commission is left untouched by virtue of Sections 12(4) of the Act and so is the process of appointment of Information Commissioners under Section 12(3). He also said the government has no ulterior motives and only wished to bring uniformity in services.
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