NEW DELHI: Modi Government’s landmark Bill titled “Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015” was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday by Dr Jitendra Singh, MoS PMO. The bill aims at amending the existing Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011.
Singh said that the decision to introduce the bill reflected Government’s commitment to eliminate corruption, ensure adequate protection to the complainant reporting corruption and at the same time, also strengthen the safeguards against disclosures which may have a prejudicial effect on the sovereignty and integrity of the country and security of the state.
Refuting unsubstantiated observations in certain quarters that the Modi Government was not in favour of transparency in governance, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the facts, on the contrary, prove that the present Government has gone one step further to bring in more transparency without compromising our commitment to the sovereignty and integrity of the Indian republic.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the story of ‘Whistle Blowers Bill’ is indeed a ‘Tale of travesty’. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 26, 2010 and passed on December 27, 2011. Later, when it was introduced in the Rajya Sabha, the then Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, Arun Jaitley had suggested certain amendments to ensure safeguards against disclosures affecting sovereignty, integrity and security of the nation. These suggestions and amendments were, by and large, agreed upon by all sections of the House, including the then ruling party. However, in spite of this, the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in haste in February, 2014 because the UPA Government was in a hurry to take credit for having passed the bill before its rule came to an end.
The present bill introduced today, said Dr. Jitendra Singh, is therefore only an attempt to complete the unfinished task of the past Government and the amended provisions incorporated as safeguards against disclosures affecting the security, sovereignty and integrity of the nation are nothing new but only inspired by the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Section 8 which forbids such disclosures. It is, therefore, hoped that all sections of the House, rising above party lines, will unanimously support the bill in the larger interest of efficient governance, transparency and sovereignty which are virtues cherished by every political party, he added.