Hours after Congress president Sonia Gandhi
attacked the government for its false promises on transparency, the Union Cabinet met on Wednesday evening to approve an amendment that would effectively dilute the scope of the Whistle Blowers Protection Act of 2011. The amendment incorporates ‘necessary provisions’ to keep issues of national security out of its purview.
Anti-corruption activists have argued that the new provisions could weaken the fight against corruption in key sectors like defence. In the past, several dubious deals like the Bofors, Scorpene, Tatra truck and AgustaWestland scams have been exposed by whistle blowers.
Ms. Gandhi attacked the government in the Lok Sabha for not notifying the Bill despite it getting the President’s assent last year. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha, in December 2011 and the Rajya Sabha had passed it on 21 February last year and it received the President’s assent on May 9. During the last days of UPA rule, the BJP had proposed certain amendments to the Bill when it came up for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha. One was to bar whistleblowers from seeking information on national security.
