-The Hindu Allotted fake Provident Fund accounts by contractors Workers hired through multiple contractors by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) here have alleged that companies have been denying them their minimum wages and have allotted fake Provident Fund and health insurance accounts to siphon off their money. Questioned about this, officials said that while they were aware of the workers’ complaints, they had not yet blacklisted any company, despite the fact that...

-The Hindustan Times For now, it looks like India Against Corruption member Anjali Damania has had the proverbial last laugh. In the last week of September, when Damania revealed on national TV channel that BJP’s national president Nitin Gadkari had rebuffed her when she went to meet him for helping her in the irrigation scam, many in the media said this was an act of harakiri for the activist. They reasoned to her that...

-The Indian Express Recently, the prime minister raised concerns about RTI applications encroaching on the right to privacy. At this juncture, it may be worth remembering the case of “Auto Shankar” and his diary. About 20 years ago, an auto driver called Gauri Shankar, who had murdered more than six teenage girls, was convicted and sentenced to death. Before the appeals process was exhausted, he started writing a diary, which was...

-DNA Dr Manmohan Singh rarely speaks his mind and when he speaks, people listen, as claimed by US president Barack Obama. But this time, a rather reserved-in-speech prime minister is at the receiving end for speaking his mind on the Right to Information (RTI) Act from various quarters. At a recent Convention of Central Information Commissioners, Singh cautioned against frivolous and vexatious use of the RTI. While the debate on the uses...

-The Hindu Prime Minister’s statement has disturbing implications for implementation of the Act, say civil society activists Civil society activists have decided to launch a nationwide campaign in case there are attempts by the Government to dilute the Right to Information Act, 2005. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while inaugurating the 7 annual convention of the Central Information Commission on Friday, had cautioned against misuse of the transparency law and suggested “the citizens’...