RTI activists slam government's move to amend RTI Act

NEW DELHI: Describing the covert way in which RTI amendments have been introduced by the government as a trivialization of democracy, activist Aruna Roy said that political parties have lost a historical opportunity to appear transparent.

Roy and others, including Harsh Mander and Anjali Bharadwaj, were protesting against the government's move to exclude political parties from the ambit of the RTI Act. The amendments were approved by the Union Cabinet on August 1 with the government planning to pass it during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.

Describing the RTI Act as the equivalent of a million lokpals, activist Harsh Mander, said that, "Every agency is happy to see transparency in others. But when it comes to them (the government), they don't want it."

The activists have also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposing the proposed amendments to the RTI Act.

"India's governance is going through a credibility crisis as never witnessed before, in which all sectors of governance and social formations have been suspect," the letter mentioned.

The letter has been signed by 300 eminent citizens.

The letter added: "We, as citizens of India, demand that it (the RTI act) is not amended. The act has enabled the making of informed choices and strengthened participatory democracy."

Activists said that this was a clear case of conflict of interest that would be met with resistance. NCPRI's Nikhil Dey called the move to amend the act 'match-fixing' with no public consultation on the matter.

The activists will be holding a protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday and have a series of protests planned in different cities including Bangalore, Hyderabad and others. They said that over 6000 people had signed the online petition in Gujarat, while those in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Odisha were also participating in the campaign.

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