Right to Information BILL TO HOUSE ON TUESDAY
The introduction of the Right to Information Act was a key pledge made during the new government’s 100-day-programme
The Government is set to present the long awaited Right to Information Bill to Parliament on Tuesday (8), Deputy Minister of Mass Media Karu Paranavithana said yesterday.
Mr. Paranavithana told Daily Mirror that the party leaders will decide the date on which it could be taken up for debate once it is presented. However he said it is unlikely that the Bill would be debated during the next Parliamentary session. The Bill was said to provide provisions for the establishment of a Right to Information Commission and the appointment of Information Officers among other measures to uphold the people’s right to information.
The Deputy Minister said the present draft of the Bill was prepared by referring to the older drafts of the Bill that were prepared earlier. He said the good aspects of the earlier drafts had been included in the new Bill to be presented to the House.
The Deputy Minister said the present draft of the Bill was prepared by referring to the older drafts of the Bill that were prepared earlier
Cabinet Approval for the draft Bill was granted on December 2, 2015 and it was sent for discussion at the provincial level, before being presented to Parliament.
The introduction of the Right to Information Act was a key pledge made during the new government’s 100-day-programme, a draft of which was presented to Parliament in March 2015. However, it was withdrawn after the media associations and opposition political parties objected to some aspects of it.
A similar Bill was presented to Parliament in 2010 by former Minister Milinda Moragoda while former Minister ( now Speaker) Karu Jayasuriya also presented a similar Bill in 2012.