Parliament Special Session mystery deepens as reply to RTI is refused

Was the objective to hold a special session of Parliament was only to get the Women’s Reservation Bill passed or was the Modi government trying to create some bigger blast, which it could not do ?  A report by Sunny Sharma The layers of mystery regarding the purpose of the special session of Parliament called by the government are becoming deeper. Was the purpose of the special session only to get the Women’s Reservation Bill passed or was the government trying to create some bigger blast, which it could not do? Was its purpose to manage headlines by diverting attention from the meeting of India Alliance in Mumbai or something else? The government has deepened this mystery by refusing to provide information under RTI about the President’s order regarding calling the special session and its agenda. The eyes of the entire country were fixed on the special session of Parliament called between 18th and 22nd September, considering the possibility of something big happening. As the date approached, a sea of speculations began to stir. Then, after the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill, the session was suddenly adjourned a day earlier, reinforcing the fact that there was actually something else on the agenda of the government. When she could not get it off the ground, the session was suddenly adjourned a day earlier. To know the same thing, RTI activist PP Kapoor of Panipat filed an RTI in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs on 21st September, the day the House was adjourned. In this, he had asked for a copy of the President’s order calling a special session of Parliament from 18 to 22 September and a copy of the agenda along with file noting, so that the country could know why the Modi government had suddenly called this special session. What was the ultimate objective of the government? In response to this, SS Patra, Central Public Information Officer and Under Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, has given a very shocking answer in his letter dated 26 September. He flatly refused to give the requested information. Referring to Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act 2005, he said that the decisions of the Union Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers can be made public only after the decision has been taken and the work has been completed.