Should Atal letters be public?

NEW DELHI: The prime minister’s office has decided to consult BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi on the subject of making public correspondence between him and former prime minister AB Vajpayee after the 2002 Godhra riots, in response to an RTI application.

The sudden caution in a tough election season is a deviation from earlier instances when the PMO has readily released such correspondence between two high offices. According to the Press Trust of India report, the PMO’s central public information officer (CPIO) SE Rizvi invoked a section under the

THE SUDDEN CAUTION IN ELECTION SEASON IS A DEVIATION FROM EARLIER INSTANCES WHEN THE PMO HAS READILY RELEASED SUCH CORRESPONDENCE

Right To Information Act that enables the government to seek third party consent of the person or body with whom the correspondence is made to deny the information.

This view was arrived at after Rizvi’s earlier argument against releasing the documents — that it could impede ongoing investigation in riot cases — was overruled by his senior at the PMO. “The CPIO is directed to obtain fresh inputs and provide the same to the applicant within 15 days,” Krishan Kumar, director and appellate authority, had said. The RTI application was filed six months ago. In normal course, information under the Act has to be provided within six months. In the past, the PMO has given out information on its correspondence with other government offices and leaders without seeking their consent. It had released correspondence with National Advisory Council chief Sonia Gandhi to HT and with the finance Ministry on the 2G case to RTI applicant Vivek Garg. Letters written by MPs on spectrum allocation were also disclosed.