When the controversial Finance Ministry note to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on P. Chidambaram's role in 2G spectrum allocation was traced to a Right to Information application, there was surprise — and some concern — both within the government and in RTI circles. The government's discomfiture was understandable: The RTI Act, which was its proud creation, recoiled on it much like the boon that Lord Shiva granted Basmasura. In the...

-Outlook   BJP MLA Dhruv Narayan Singh is among the 18 persons who will be quizzed in connection with the murder of RTI activist Shehla Masood, police sources said today. Singh is among the 18 persons who were either in contact with Shehla or who spoke to her regularly on her cellphone, they said A notice would soon be sent to the Bhopal MLA, who would be called and his statement recorded, the sources...

-The Indian Express   In yet another attack on RTI activists in Gujarat, a Porabnder-based lawyer-cum-RTI activist, Bhagubhai Devani, was grievously stabbed near his home on Friday. Devani, who suffered severe blood loss from multiple stab wounds, has pointed fingers at the former minister. An FIR has been lodged against six unidentified attackers and the activist has been admitted to the Sir Bhavsinhji Hospital. The attack came a day after the hearing on...

Chhattisgarh’s BJP government has decided to abstain from Planning Commission meetings in protest against the inclusion of Binayak Sen in its steering committee on health. Chief minister Raman Singh has told TV channels that an elected government cannot attend meetings where a “convict” will be present. Senior state officials, though, said that bureaucrats would be sent to plan panel meetings on financial matters such as outlays and projects. Skipping these meetings can...

Peasant leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi’s long drawn campaign against corruption reached a crescendo today with police detaining him for violating Section 144 while taking out a procession in support of Anna Hazare’s movement for the new Lok Pal Bill. He was later released. Hundreds of people spilled onto the streets of Assam, particularly in Upper Assam, today after police detained the RTI activist. Akhil was first stopped in the middle...