State Congress President Govind Singh Dotasara and Leader of Opposition Tikaram Julie made a scathing attack on the Central Government in a joint press conference at the Congress Headquarters on Sunday. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, both the leaders said that the BJP government has weakened the basic spirit of the Act. He said that the UPA government had enacted this Act to ensure public rights and transparency, but now it has deviated from its original objective.
Dotasara’s attack: Dotasara said that since the NDA government came to power in 2014, there are continuous attacks on the RTI Act. The 2019 amendment has removed its transparency. He said that under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act to be introduced in 2023, personal information is now being refused, which is against public interest.
Dotasara alleged that the government has started the process of hiding confidential information under the guise of this amendment. Giving an example, he said that in matters like the degree of the Prime Minister, information is not being given through RTI. Earlier, the public could easily get information about various schemes including MLA and MP Fund and MNREGA, but now this facility has almost ended.
Central Information Commission described as inactive: Dotasara said that the Central Government has also weakened the Central Information Commission. Of the 11 sanctioned posts, only two are currently functional, and the post of Chief Information Commissioner is vacant. He said that this is a conspiracy to destroy transparency.
He also mentioned the Whistleblower Protection Act and said that this law has not been properly followed till date. Taking a dig at the Prime Minister’s slogan “Na khaoonga na khane doonga”, Dotasara said RTI activists were being put in jail and put under pressure by agencies like ED, Income Tax and CBI. He demanded that the 2019 amendments to RTI be immediately withdrawn.
Julie said, “RTI is the backbone of democracy.” Opposition leader Tikaram Julie said that the Right to Information Act is the backbone of democracy. He said that the UPA government made this law so that the public could know where the government money was being spent. Julie told that RTI was started in Rajasthan and later Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government implemented it in the entire country.
Julie accused the BJP government of conspiring to weaken this law. Referring to the recent information received through RTI about hidden cameras in the Assembly, he said that this is a proof of transparency. He said that RTI has exposed many big scams and curbed corruption. To weaken it is a betrayal of the public.
Targeting BJP regarding Anta by-election: Dotasara also targeted BJP regarding Anta by-election. He said that BJP has not yet announced its candidate as the party lacks a strong candidate. Dotasara said that Vasundhara Raje is avoiding revealing the name of the candidate, while the Chief Minister and the state BJP president come to meet her. He claimed that Congress will fight the by-elections strongly and win.