Political parties under RTI

Lifting the veil of secrecy from sources of funding of political parties and their expenditure, the central information commission (CIC) has ruled that they are public authorities and must respond to RTI queries within six weeks.
Political parties lost the battle to stay out of the purview of RTI and keep their donors secret after the commission in a 54-page order said six national parties—the Congress, BJP, NCP, CPM, CPI and BSP—have been substantially funded, even if indirectly, by the central government.
The CIC ruled that political parties have the “character of a public authority” under the RTI Act as they perform public functions. The ruling came after the Commission was approached by activists who failed to get a response from the political parties on who their top 10 donors were.
Unless the order is challenged successfully by political parties in court, it will mean parties are finally under the RTI Act and have to dish out information on donors, assets, liabilities, profits earned and spending to anyone seeking such information under the Act.
The commission also directed the political parties to appoint public information officers within six weeks to respond to the RTI queries and adhere to legal provisions.