New Delhi: The Centre has said that amendments to the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 are not part of the current parliament session’s agenda.
“No such notification has been made by the Government for the reason that the Act requires amendments aimed at safeguarding against disclosures affecting sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, etc, before it is brought into force,” Union minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pensions Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (December 4), reported Hindustan Times.
The Whistle Blowers Protection Act was passed by the parliament in February 2014, during the last leg of the UPA II regime. The law enables any person to report corruption, wilful misuse of power or criminal offences by public servants and the Act makes a provision for conducting discreet inquiries by a designated authority while protecting identities of the complainants.
But law was never implemented. In December 2014, Singh had said in Rajya Sabha that amendments “aimed at safeguarding against disclosures affecting sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State” couldn’t be moved as the bill was taken up on the last day of the 15th Lok Sabha earlier that year.
A decade later, Singh’s response on Wednesday on the issue was very similar to he said in 2014.
