-Down to Earth The National Democratic Alliance government's move is an assault on the independence of information commissioners, writes former Central Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu Alas! I thought the Narendra Modi government is strong enough after its re-election. But now it is scared of the Right to Information (RTI) and the Chief Information Commission (CIC), as if they are monsters who can harm the power of the powerful rulers. The Information Commissioner...

-Down to Earth The amendment to the RTI Act does not deserve the assent of the President, writes former Central Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu in the second of this two-part series The Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions told the House that Parliament's competence to enact a law to give effect to the citizens' right to obtain information is located in Entry 97 of the Union List...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Drivers and riders will become “ATMs for traffic policemen and transport department officials”, traffic and safety experts have cautioned the government while suggesting that preparatory steps be taken before high penalties for violations kick in. Amendments in the motor vehicle law have been passed by Rajya Sabha and are all set to pass through Lok Sabha on Monday where BJP has a majority. One of the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Hundreds of patients, including those requiring emergency treatment, were turned away by Delhi’s top public hospitals on Friday, the second day of the strike called by resident doctors protesting against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill. A 14-year-old girl, who had come to Safdarjung Hospital with chest pain, wasn’t admitted into the emergency ward. “The doctors said my condition was not life-threatening and asked me to...

-The Hindu Protesters launch mass RTI campaign, raise questions on controversial issues New Delhi: Right to Information activists attempting to deliver a petition against the RTI Amendments Bill to the President via his Secretariat were detained outside Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday. Later, they launched a new campaign to bombard the government with a mass RTI campaign raising queries on prickly issues of public interest, from the Unnao rape case and the Rafale defence...