-The Times of India blog Last week, NDA government succeeded in getting contentious amendments to RTI Act passed by Parliament. Social activist Aruna Roy, who was at the forefront of the movement to persuade Parliament to enact the original law, speaks to Anindo Dey about the development: * The government said the RTI Act amendments set right the anomaly of the Information Commissions, which are statutory bodies, being treated on a par...
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Mass appeal by Opposition on scrutiny of bills in Rajya Sabha -Anita Joshua
-The Telegraph Only 2 short-duration discussions had been taken up this session instead of taking up at least 1 a week Seventeen political parties, which together have 103 members in the Rajya Sabha, submitted a letter to Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday, seeking his intervention to ensure the parliamentary scrutiny of bills and adherence to rules that have been put in place to allow proper deliberation. “We urge you to ensure that...
More »'RTI Bill Shrouded in Secrecy, How Will it Enhance Transparency?' Ask Former CICs -Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar
-TheWire.in Former commissioners urged citizens to oppose the amendments tooth and nail as they would impact people's right to know. New Delhi: A number of former information commissioners came forward on Wednesday to criticise the attempts by the Narendra Modi government to rush the RTI Amendment Bill, 2019, through the parliament without following a proper consultation process. They also cautioned that, if passed, the amendment would weaken the transparency law – rated...
More »There's a 'Bizarre', Incomplete Logic to Amended RTI Act -Wajahat Habibullah
-Newsclick.in The amendments contradict the federal nature of the Act, and end up violating the PM’s principle of cooperative federalism. Information is the currency that every citizen requires to participate in the life and governance of society —AP Shah, former Chief Justice, Delhi and Madras High Courts, 2010. It is not just Shah but many justices of the High Courts and the Supreme Court, who have repeatedly stressed that the right to information is...
More »Lok Sabha passes Bill amending RTI Act amidst strong objection from Opposition
-The Hindu Opposition accuses the government of trying to dilute the effectiveness of the law New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 three days after it was introduced. It seeks to amend the landmark transparency law and bring in changes involving the salaries and tenures of Information Commissioners (ICs) at the States and Centre. As per the amendment ICs — who currently have five-year tenures...
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