Congress News: A press conference was held at the Uttar Pradesh Congress Headquarters on the 20th anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Addressing the same, UP Congress Committee Media Department Chairman CP Rai accused the BJP government of being involved in corruption and scams. He said the UPA government had brought the RTI Act on October 12, 2005, which was aimed at empowering citizens, making governance transparent and accountable, but was being weakened since 2014.
Manmohan Singh government had brought the act
Dr. CP Rai further said that the RTI Act came into existence under the UPA government led by Dr. Manmohan Singh and the visionary leadership of Sonia Gandhi. This was the first part of the rights-based agenda, which included important laws like MNREGA, Right to Education, and the National Food Security Act. He stressed that RTI has proved to be a lifeline for the most marginalized people of the society, helping in getting ration, pension and scholarships. It was weakened by the 2019 amendments, which gave the central government the right to decide the tenure and service conditions and increased the influence of the executive.
2 out of 11 Information Commissioners are working
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023) amended Section 8(1)(j) of RTI and expanded the scope of the definition of information. Due to this, disclosure of information in public interest can be prevented. He said this would affect the disclosure of important information such as voter lists or use of public funds, thereby weakening public oversight. He expressed concern over the pathetic condition of the Central and State Information Commissions. Dr Rai said that only two commissioners are working in the Central Information Commission against 11 sanctioned posts, about 4,05,000 appeals and complaints are pending, which is almost double as compared to 2019.
Attack on RTI workers
Recalling the attacks on RTI activists like Shehla Masood and Satish Shetty, he said the Protection Act, despite being passed, has not been implemented by the Modi government, leaving those who expose corruption unprotected. Congress has made six-point demands to protect and strengthen the RTI Act, including repeal of the 2019 amendments, review of the DPDP Act, immediate filling of all vacancies, and full implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Act. On this occasion, Vice Chairman of Media Department Manish Srivastava Hindavi, Spokesperson Dr. Umashankar Pandey, Sachin Rawat and other officials were present.