Resistance to RTI Act harmful for Board’s image
Should the Indian Board come under the Right to Information Act? Amidst all the right noises that the Board is making under its new president, Shashank Manohar, this is one issue which seems absent from its attempts to usher in administrative reforms, of which the Justice Lodha panel will be the final arbitrator.
The Board has been very resistant to this demand on the pretext that the RTI Act is applicable only to government departments and their functionaries. According to the Board, it is a private body and hence can’t come under its purview.
THE OBJECTIVE
Let us look at what coming under RTI entail? According to its website, “The basic object of the RTI is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of governance and make the government more accountable to the governed. The Act is a big step towards making the citizens informed about the activities of the government.”
Going by this above definition, the Board may seem right in its stand that since it is not the government, why should it subject itself to such severe scrutiny from the public?
This is the stand it has been taking for many years now, especially when the question is raised that it should be accountable to the public. However, that stand changes when the question is raised that what right does it have to call the team it selects ‘India’?
These contradictory claims, however, were laid to rest by the Supreme Court, which made it clear that the Board performs a public function and therefore comes under judicial scrutiny. Had that not been so, the Supreme Court would have found it difficult to intervene in its functioning. It not only banned two IPL teams but also constituted a judicial panel to suggest constitutional reforms for a transparent functioning of the Board.
The question to be asked is that why should the Board not want to reveal to the public what goes on behind its closed doors, especially when the new buzz word is transparency and cleansing of the game of all the corrupt elements that have brought such a bad name to the sport.
FEARING EXPOSURE?
Is it the fear that some of its wrongdoings could get exposed? Is it to keep the finances under a cloak of secrecy, so that if any wrong is being done, the public won’t know about it?
At a time when it is making an attempt to appear credible, it would be better advised to swallow this bitter pill, for the larger good of its image and functioning.
Voluntary disclosures are the basic foundations of a democratic society and the best deterrence to any wrongdoing is the fear of getting publically exposed and swiftly punished.
THE QUESTION TO BE ASKED IS THAT WHY SHOULD THE BOARD NOT WANT TO REVEAL TO THE PUBLIC WHAT GOES ON BEHIND ITS CLOSED DOORS