PM Manmohan Singh, Sonia 'differ' on amendments to RTI Act

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi have reportedly exchanged correspondence over the issue of amendments to the RTI Act in the context of several court rulings including one related to the Chief Justice of India.

Gandhi wrote a letter to Singh two months back that she is of the firm opinion, like that of the NGOs, that there should be no amendments in the the Right to Information(RTI) Act and the existing Act should be properly implemented, according to a private news channel report.

The Prime Minister in his response said there is a need for RTI amendments but all stakeholders will be consulted before any changes are made, the channel reported.

The proposed changes in the RTI Act being considered include the need to exempt the office of Chief Justice of India from the purview of the RTI Act.

Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said that the consensus of the Commissioners was there is no need to bring about amendments saying the existing laws could be strengthened by amending the rules.

The rules certainly need to be strengthened but not the laws, he added.

The Delhi High Court in January had upheld its single bench order that the office of the Chief Justice of India comes within the purview of the RTI Act and details of judges assets should be revealed under that.