Political parties are under the RTI Act: CIC

Setting a new bench mark in transparency in politics, the Central Information Commission today held political parties are answerable under the Right to Information Act.

A Full Bench of the Commission comprising Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra and Information Commissioner M L Sharma and Annapurna Dixit held six parties--Congress, BJP, CPI-M, CPI, NCP and BSP--to whom RTI queries were directed, fulfill the criteria of being public authorities under the Right to Information Act.