Manmohan Singh not in tune with Sonia Gandhi over RTI - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has reportedly disagreed with Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the Right to Information (RTI) Act. As per news channels, Dr Singh is in favour of excluding the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from falling under the ambit of the RTI Act, whereas Sonia Gandhi has opposed any amendments in the Act. The changes proposed by the Prime Minister in the RTI Act will keep the office of the Chief Justice of India out of the purview of the Act. There are reports that Dr Singh has written a letter to Congress President saying that some changes are needed in the RTI Act to address the concerns of the judiciary. A leading news channel on Thursday night reported that Sonia Gandhi wrote to Dr Singh two months ago that she was determined that there should be no amendments to the Act and the existing RTI Act should be put into operation appropriately. The channel further reported that Dr Singh in his reply said there was a need for RTI amendments, but all stakeholders would be consulted prior to making any alteration. There are reports that the Chief Justice of India (CJI), K G Balakrishnan, wrote a letter to Dr Singh in November 2009 expressing concern over the possible consequences of bringing his office into the purview of the RTI Act.