By IANS,
New Delhi: The government is keeping the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) out of the Right to Information (RTI) Act’s ambit so that it can continue using it as a political tool, Lokpal bill joint drafting committee member Arvind Kejriwal said Tuesday.
Reacting to the CBI’s refusal to share details of disproportionate assets cases, as sought under an RTI query, Kejriwal said the government is using the agency as a tool to “arm-twist its opponents”.
“It clearly shows the intentions of the government…that the government is interested in keeping the CBI dishonest so that it can arm-twist its political opponents and to scuttle all inquiry against its own party people,” Kejriwal said.
“That is the reason the government is not even interested in taking the CBI’s anti-corruption branch under the Lokpal. The government is vehemently opposing this idea because the government wants to keep the CBI under its own control,” he said.
Kejriwal expressed confidence that the government’s decision will be dismissed if challenged in a court of law.
“RTI Act clearly says that only security and intelligence related agencies can be taken out of RTI Act. The CBI is neither a security nor intelligence agency, it’s like police. It is a completely illegal order and if it is challenged in a court of law, we are confident the court will strike down this notification,” he added.
The government, through a notification June 9, put the CBI in the category of organisations excluded from providing information under the RTI Act.