-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...

-The Telegraph Until now, Modi was the only one who represented the government in Niti Aayog Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday approved the reconstitution of the Niti Aayog, the policy think-tank created in January 2015 out of the remains of the outmoded Planning Commission, by inducting home minister Amit Shah as an ex-officio member along with three other ministers who have been similarly designated. The other ex-officio members of Niti Aayog are...

-TheWire.in "If free and fair elections are integral to the running of our democracy, the voter has to be provided with a mechanism where the casting of a vote is visible, and apparent to his or her understanding." New Delhi: Members of civil society have released a statement demanding the counting of all VVPAT slips for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Recommending that “the VVPAT slips be recognised as the ballot paper”, the...

-The Hindu ‘Existing guidelines contrary to 2015 ruling on sharing information under RTI Act’ The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) “a last opportunity” to withdraw a November 2016 Disclosure Policy to the extent to which it stonewalls revelation of every other kind of information under the Right to Information Act, including the list of wilful defaulters and annual inspection reports. A Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao...

-The Hindu Invites political parties for discussion; Congress, RJD and NCP agree to participate so far As political parties prepare their election manifestos and promises, a group of civil society leaders and concerned citizens on Tuesday released a document, Reclaiming the Republic, which they hope will shape the political agenda in the run up to the Lok Sabha poll. The comprehensive list includes judicial and electoral reforms, repeal of laws which threaten personal...