Leave the RTI law alone
It is a pity that there should be credible reports that there is unease about the Right to Information Act at the highest levels of government when it was the government led by Manmohan Singh that had brought in the law in the UPA-I period. In a country where the attitude of officials at all levels — at the Centre
and in the states, and regardless of the party in power — has not departed from the colonial format of ruling over a subject people, and deems the sharing of information as sacrilege, the arrival of the RTI Act came as a breath of fresh air. It bolstered the image of UPA-I, which appeared keen on being seen as respecting democratic sentiment at the grassroots.
If we look at history, the demand for the right to information was mooted in Rajasthan by the Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti led by Aruna Roy, now a member of the National Advisory Council headed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Villagers were routinely denied their due by the nexus of officials and contractors, and the RTI Act came as a big relief as it gave rural wage-earners the right to examine payment records. Generally speaking, the existence of the right to information in the statutes has revolutionary potential. It acts as a deterrent to wrong-doing and to officialdom riding roughshod over the rights of ordinary individuals, a great number of whom are poor and unlettered.
Inaugurating the annual conference of the Central Information Commission, the Prime Minister on Friday came up with a litany of complaints about the misuse of the RTI, although he hastened to add that the government had no intention to dismantle the law. This, however, has not quelled speculation that amendments may be round the corner which might have the effect of enfeebling the RTI Act. The Prime Minister lamented that the right to information was becoming an obstacle to the “deliberative process” in government as it required even file notings to be made public. In short, not much remained secret or confidential outside a restricted domain such as national security. Before the PM, some ministers had also voiced similar concerns.
Misuse of the RTI Act, as well as frivolous applicants for information that waste everyone’s time, cannot be denied. However, the same can be said of the institution of PIL established by the Supreme Court, or for that matter of science. On balance, however, the RTI Act is a salutary law. Its existence has already benefited investigation in the 2G case, to take one example. Instead of railing against the law, it may be useful to view the instances of its misuse as a phase in the entrenchment of democratic polity in the country.
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