Shimla, March 13 BJP leader Randhir Sharma criticised the state government's decision to exclude the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, calling it unconstitutional and authoritarian.
The BJP's state media in-charge stated that a state does not have the authority to alter or weaken a law that has been passed by Parliament.
In a notification issued on Thursday, the Himachal Pradesh government excluded the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau from the purview of the Right to Information Act.
Sharma, the MLA from Naina Devi, said that the primary responsibility of the two excluded bodies is to investigate corruption cases and ensure accountability in governance, and therefore, their transparency is extremely important.
The BJP MLA, in a statement, alleged that the government intends to use the Vigilance Bureau for political convenience and is trying to convert it into a "puppet institution".
The RTI Act was enacted in 2005 by the Parliament of India during the tenure of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, when the Congress was in power at the Centre.