Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 15 : Himachal Pradesh Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur slammed the government's move to exclude the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Vigilance Bureau from RTI.
The BJP leader alleged that the move has been taken to misuse these agencies against the opposition.
"These two agencies contribute to carrying out investigations, and if you obstruct or influence the investigation process, naturally, investigations cannot be free or fair. Why was this necessary?...The Himachal Pradesh government is moving in the direction of misusing these two investigation agencies. This clearly shows that something is brewing against the opposition, and officers & people who do not work as they wish...," Thakur told ANI.
Thakur further pointed fingers at the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the Congress high command for influencing investigations.
He further claimed, "The current CM of Himachal Pradesh has ordered a vigilance investigation against a senior Congress leader. Many people have demanded RTI in that matter, but the Congress high command has put pressure to end this investigation... This step has been taken to obstruct the independent functioning of both agencies..."
The Congress-led government of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Himachal Pradesh has taken another administrative decision under its "system change" initiative, excluding the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau from the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
The notification in this regard was issued by the Department of Personnel (Administrative Reforms) of the state government on Thursday.
According to the notification, the decision has been taken by exercising powers under Section 24(4) of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
The notification states: "In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 24 (4) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the Governor, Himachal Pradesh is pleased to exclude the State Vigilance & Anti Corruption Bureau from the ambit of the Right to Information Act, 2005."
Following this decision, citizens will no longer be able to directly obtain information from the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau through RTI applications. However, as per the provisions of the law, limited information related to corruption and human rights violations can still be sought.
The notification has been issued by Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta.
Officials indicated that the decision has been taken keeping in view administrative reasons and the sensitive nature of investigation processes. During investigations into corruption cases, several sensitive details are involved and making such information public through RTI could affect the probe process. Therefore, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has been kept outside the purview of the RTI Act.
So far, no official reaction has come from the state government regarding the decision, and the opposition has also not issued any statement on the matter yet.