People-centric Democracy and Accountability of Political Parties in India
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561231176963 |
| Author | Aditi Narayani |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
People-centric
Democracy and
Accountability of
Political Parties in India
Aditi Narayani1
Abstract
The bulwark of most constitutional democracy rests in an informed citizenry,
which can effectively partake in the governance of the State by exercising its
right to vote. The formulation of this informed group of citizens, in turn, requires
transparency in the working of the public bodies and the making of administrative
and policy decisions as it can enable them to make informed choices. In India, the
focus on transparency in the working of government offices or ‘public authori-
ties’ was given a fresh thrust with the enactment of the Right to Information
Act, 2005. Despite containing a wide definition of ‘public authority’ to include
several institutions within its ambit, the scope of this Act fails to include all such
institutions or entities which have a considerable impact on the governance of
the country. This article examines the role of transparency in a constitutional
democracy and its relations with accountability. It then analyses the part played
by political parties in the constitutional set-up of India to scrutinise the impor-
tance of its role in matters which affect the public at large. Using the importance
of the role played by the political parties, the article examines the reasons as to
why they should be brought under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.
Through this analysis, the article highlights the need for adding the test of ‘public
function’ in the Act, in order to expand the scope of ‘public authority’.
Keywords
Right to information, transparency, accountability, public function, political
parties
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
69(3) 529–541, 2023
© 2023 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/00195561231176963
journals.sagepub.com/home/ipa
1 Department of Sociology, Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
Corresponding author:
Aditi Narayani, Department of Sociology, Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110052,
India.
E-mail: narayaniaditi26@gmail.com
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