New Delhi: Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is gearing up to respond to a query filed by Kanhaiya Lal, a villager in Jhalawar district, Rajasthan. Lal has sought information on getting black money from overseas bank accounts and crediting Rs15 lakh into bank accounts of poor.

Responding to an RTI application filed by Lal, Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the PMO to respond to it. Lal had complained to the commission that the PMO hadn’t responded to his application. Lal also wanted to know the status of the PM’s pledge to remove corruption, a promise made in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Lal said corruption had increased in the last two years.

Responding to an RTI application filed by Lal, Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the PMO to respond to it. Lal had complained to the commission that the PMO hadn’t responded to his application. Lal also wanted to know the status of the PM’s pledge to remove corruption, a promise made in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Lal said corruption had increased in the last two years.

The PMO told CIC that it couldn’t provide details as it hasn’t received Lal’s request earlier. Now, it had received a copy, the commission said it would respond. But Lal may not get the answers he is looking for.

The transparency law only requires the PMO to give the available information to an applicant, not create information. If the PMO has not discussed the promise to bring back black money and distribute it among the poor, then it can simply tell the applicant that the information was not available in its records. Or it could transfer the application to the finance ministry. According to Right to Information Act, whatever details were available could be shared, but information can’t be created, said a senior official.