In a reply to RTI activist Subhash Agrawal, the president’s secretariat has indirectly confirmed that a letter written by Dr Subramanian Swamy to APJ Kalam led to the then President inviting Dr Manmohan Singh as the PM

Janata Party president, Dr Subramanian Swamy’s letter to the then president, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was one of the deciding factors in the formation of the central government in 2004. Acting on the letter, Dr Kalam had invited Dr Manmohan Singh to form the government, revealed a Right to Information (RTI) query.

Dr Swamy has been claiming that he had written a letter from Chennai to President Dr Kalam before the first UPA government was formed stating that Sonia Gandhi, president of Indian National Congress cannot be made prime minister according to the provisions in the Citizenship Act. And if she is made then PM then he will challenge the decision in court.

Delhi-based activist Subhash Agrawal filed an RTI application with the president’s secretariat seeking detailed information along with documents and correspondence relating to the formation of the central government when Dr Singh was appointed prime minister for the first time in the year 2004.

In its reply, dated 26th April 2012, the secretariat said that, “Letter written by Dr Subramanian Swamy, president, Janata Party to the president was inter alia, a communication sent in confidence by him to the president, based on which the president exercised his/her discretion to appoint the prime minister under Article 75.”

However, the president’s secretariat refused to furnish the copy of the letter as asked by Mr Agrawal in his RTI application. “Disclosure would be a breach of confidentiality and fiduciary relationship and therefore attracts section 8(1) (e) of RTI Act.”

Mr Agrawal, who has now appealed with the aappellate authority at the president’s secretariat, says that, “It is surprising that when author of the letter namely Dr Subramanian Swamy is openly revealing through the media about contents of the letter, how could the president’s secretariat claim the information to be fiduciary in nature? Significantly the CPIO (chief public information officer) has himself confessed that the then Honourable President of India exercised his right to appoint the prime minister based on that letter. At the most, the CPIO could invite ‘Third Party’ comments under section 11 of RTI Act on disclosing the said letter from Dr Swamy within five days of the receipt of RTI petition, which was not done, making the provision infructuous now at this stage.              

To the RTI applicant query where he had asked for copies of the correspondence and letters from political parties or individuals for staking claim to form the government before Dr Manmohan Singh was invited , the secretariat said, “as per record no political party staked claim to form the government.”

Mr Agrawal also sought clarity on whether it is true that certain individuals, political parties had objected to some particular person being invited to form the government and asked letters together with replies, if any, to any such objections. But the secretariat said that, “No records are available in this regard.”