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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | PM Manmohan Singh calls for review of RTI Act

PM Manmohan Singh calls for review of RTI Act

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published Published on Oct 15, 2011   modified Modified on Oct 15, 2011

-The Economic Times

 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for a review of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, one of the UPA's trophy legislations, potentially exposing the government to a fresh stand-off with civil society. Addressing a two-day annual convention of the Central Information Commission here, Singh said the transparency law should not adversely affect deliberative processes in the government and discourage honest, well-meaning public servants from voicing their views.

He asked the participating information commissioners to come up with concrete suggestions in the area of exemption clauses in the RTI Act. "We must also take a critical look at the exemption clauses in the Right to Information Act to determine whether they serve the larger good and whether a change is needed in them," Singh said.

The timing of the statement is significant as it comes in the midst of RTI-triggered political convulsions experienced by the government. The transparency law was instrumental in putting some of the biggest financial swindles, such as 2G spectrum allocation and irregularities in the organisation of the Commonwealth Games, in the public domain. Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily and Law Minister Salman Khurshid have been backing the demand for amending the transparency law for stalling "transgressions" into the government's functioning.

The suggestion of the prime minister came in for sharp attack from representatives of civil society, particularly members of Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council, who saw it as an attempt to restrict access to information. "In a democracy, the public has the right to know the basis of decisions once made by the government.

The file notings are an important tool in the hands of the public to understand the decision-making process in the government," NAC member Aruna Roy said. She also said keeping "opinions and advice" out of the public glare would be illegal as Section 2 of the RTI Act clearly states that a citizen has a right to seek information contained in the file notings.

Law to Protect Whistleblowers

"The issue of file notings has been decisively settled and if the government were to attempt to go back on a settled decision, it will not be accepted by activists or people of this country," Roy told ET. NAC member NC Saxena, too, differed with the prime minister's views on RTI.

"The RTI needs to be strengthened for greater transparency. A strengthened RTI will protect the deliberative process of governance, as officers will find it easier to give honest opinion. The risk of public scrutiny can ensure that officers put down honest opinion in the file," he said.

What could be more embarrassing for the prime minister was Saxena's assertion that Singh was being wrongly advised by corrupt ministers and bureaucrats. "The corrupt ministers in the government prefer the old system where their notes and opinions are shrouded in total secrecy," Saxena said.

Expectedly, the BJP upped the ante and dissected an attempt on the part of the government to defrock the legislation of its power to ensure transparency in decisionmaking. "The prime minister's statement shows a desire to dilute the provisions of the RTI. The argument that the law is curtailing deliberative processes is spurious. How can transparency be seen as a hindrance to policy making," asked senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

Coming back to the prime minister's address, he said a legislation for protection of whistleblowers would be enacted in the next few months to help prevention of violence against those who seek to expose wrongdoings in public administration. The government, he said, was committed to a comprehensive agenda of legal, executive and technology initiatives to curb corruption and improve governance and considered the Right to Information to be a powerful tool to enable it to move in that direction.


The Economic Times, 15 October, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/pm-manmohan-singh-calls-for-review-of-rti-act/articleshow/10359363.cms


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