Ministers’ assets: RTI activist says PMO withholding details
By IANSSunday, August 29, 2010
NEW DELHI - A right to information (RTI) activist has urged the Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah to question the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for not giving details of union ministers’ wealth.
RTI activist Subash Chandra Agrawal has asked Habibullah to issue a notice “for non-compliance of its (CIC) earlier order of providing the details of the assets of union ministers”.
In a letter to the CIC, Agrawal recalled that the CIC directed the PMO in June to provide “complete details of the wealth and assets of the ministers available with the PMO”.
The CIC order said the details could be shared after seeking the permission of the presiding officers of the two houses of parliament.
“Despite getting a clearance from the two houses, the PMO is not complying with the order of the CIC, which is a de-facto denial of information under the RTI Act,” Agrawal said.
In such a situation, the CIC should issue a notice to the PMO for non-compliance of its order and denial of information, Agrawal said.
