PDP not to support government on RTI bill in Rajya Sabha

Srinagar: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday denied reports that it is supporting the government towards facilitating the passage of Right to Information (RTI) bill in Rajya Sabha.

“Jammu and Kashmir has its own RTI Act 2009. No question of supporting the RTI bill in Rajya Sabha”, the PDP said in reply to a query by this correspondent.

Reports emanating from Delhi had earlier said that the Narendra Modi government has managed to get the fence-sitters including Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and PDP along on the passage of the RTI bill in the Upper House of Parliament despite the objections raised by the opposition. One such report said that despite the PDP being a bitter critique of the BJP, its two Rajya Sabha members Nazir Ahmad Laway and Fayaz Ahmad Mir have rendered their support to the bill.

While reacting to this report, former J&K chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah had tweeted “@jkpdp is backing the government in Parliament. Running with the hare and hunting with the hounds?”

Meanwhile, PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has confirmed that her party will oppose the Triple Talaq bill in Rajya Sabha.

The party’s two MPs Laway and Mir have said that since the Triple Talaq bill “is against the principles of Islam,” they will oppose it. Endorsing it, Mufti while tweeting a news report on PDP MPs’ statement to a local news agency wrote on her timeline “Just to set the record straight”.