RTI Bill likely to be deferred: Dasmunsi

New Delhi, Aug 17: The Government may not be able to bring a bill to amend the legislation on the Right to Information during the current session of Parliament in the face of the Left Parties' opposition to the bill.

Similarly, the other two amendment Bills -- Factories Act and Banking Regulation -- are also likely to be deferred to the next session.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi admitted to newspersons that the Left was not ''fully supporting'' the RTI amendment bill. The Government was trying to have a meeting with the Left Parties tomorrow to thrash out the matter, he informed.

Besides, he would also be talking to the Left on the Banking Regulations amendment bill on which they had some reservations, Mr Dasmunsi said.

He said keeping in view the paucity of time, the Government's priority was that the legislation, like the Human Rights Bills and the Cantonment Bills, which were already before Parliament, should be passed first before any new bill was introduced. Another Bill on Banking acquisition and transfers would also be adopted during the current session.

The Lok Sabha will take up discussion on the Pathak Authority Report and the India-US nuclear agreement next week, the date and time for which is yet to be decided.

On the question of the JPC's recommendation for an increase in allowances and salaries of MPs, Mr Dasmunsi said the bill in this regard would be taken up in the current session, if possible. The issue would be taken up by the Cabinet tomorrow for approval. There were chances that the quantum of increase in the allowances and salaries of MPs suggested by the JPC may be slashed, he added.

Mr Dasmunsi defended the setting up of a JPC to define Offices of Profit, saying there was nothing wrong if the names of the Committee members had not been announced. Earlier also, in the Bofors case, the Government had not announced names of the members while constituting a JPC, he added.

UNI

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Right to Information (RTI) Act