The Right to Information (RTI) Act was introduced in 2005 to enhance transparency and accountability in the system. It empowers citizens to seek information from any government organization, ministry, or office. Since its inception, it has emerged as one of the best and most useful acts India has ever had.

In 2013, the Central Information Commission (CIC) declared that all six national parties (BJP, INC, NCP, BSP, CPI(M), CPI) come under the ambit of the RTI Act. However, these parties unanimously disobeyed this non-binding order. Currently, the matter is in the Supreme Court. It is noteworthy that political parties have consistently resisted coming under the RTI Act, claiming that they are not public authorities. However, this argument is not correct from all aspects.

Why Political Parties Should Be Considered as Public Authorities?

There are three solid reasons why political parties should be considered as a public authority.

1. They receive a large portion of land free of cost in Delhi and state capitals:

2. They are exempt from paying taxes.

3. They get free airtime on Doordarshan & All India Radio during Lok Sabha elections.

It is crystal clear that they receive direct or indirect benefits from the government. This means that under the RTI clause 2(h), political parties can be considered as a public authority, which states that "public authority" means any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted and includes any

2(h)(d)(i) - body owned, controlled or substantially financed;

2(h)(d)(ii) - non-Government organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government;

Dr. Munish Raizada, Convener of Lok Ummedwar Abhiyaan, stated, "Political parties are the wheels of any democracy, and in democracy, transparency holds paramount importance." He further added, "If political parties cannot conduct themselves properly, then who will? To keep our democracy flourishing, political parties must be responsible." He concluded, "Both transparency and democracy are interconnected terms, and to keep our democracy healthy, political parties should be brought under the RTI Act."

Lok Ummedwar Abhiyaan (Public Candidate) is a campaign committed to bring democratic, electoral and judicial reforms in the country. The main agenda of this campaign is to empower the none of the above (NOTA) option, abolish electoral bonds, brought political parties under the ambit of the RTI Act, implement one nation one election, introduce the right to recall, and ban big currency notes. It also supports other reforms that will make our democracy vibrant and fairer. Read about all the reforms at www.luindia.org