As reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 13 September 2011:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...ow/9961034.cms

Standing Committee proceedings confidential: RS

NEW DELHI: Turning down an RTI plea to make parliamentary committee proceedings public, the Rajya Sabha secretariat has said that the discussions were confidential and no outsider could be associated with it.

Responding to an RTI filed by S C Agrawal, RS joint director K N Earendra Kumar said, "I am directed to state that the general purpose committee of Rajya Sabha in its meeting held on March 20, 2001, had not agreed to the opening of proceedings of Standing Committees to media and, as such, the well established practice has been that the proceedings of parliamentary committees are treated as confidential and no outsiders are associated with the deliberations.''

Agrawal in his representation has said that rules made a decade ago need to be immediately reversed so that the secrecy-cover may not hang on deliberations made in the standing committee discussing the Lokpal bill.