In a statement, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said that the Central government is hell-bent on completely subverting the historic Right to Information Act, 2005 and make it extinct
New Delhi: United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, on Tuesday (July 23) said that the Centre is hell-bent on subverting the RTI Act which now stands on the "brink of extinction", this came a day after Lok Sabha passed amendments to the Act amid loud opposition protests.
In a statement, she said it is clear that the present central government sees the RTI Act as a "nuisance" and wants to destroy the status and independence of the Central Information Commission.
"It is a matter of utmost concern that the Central government is hell-bent on completely subverting the historic Right to Information Act, 2005. This law, prepared after widespread consultations and unanimously passed by Parliament, now stands at the brink of extinction," she said in a statement
"Over the past decade and more, 60 lakh countrymen and women have used RTI and helped usher in a new culture of transparency and accountability administration at all levels," she added.
The weaker sections of our society have significantly benefited from the proactive use of RTI by activists and others.
"It is clear that the present Central government sees the RTI Act as a nuisance and wants to destroy the status and independence of the Central Information Commission which was put on par with the Central Election Commission and the Central Vigilance Commission," she stressed.
Lok Sabha on Monday (July 22) passed the Bill amending the Right to Information Act, amid objections by the Opposition which alleged that it was an attempt to undermine the law and make the transparency panel a "toothless tiger".
The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, seeks to give the government powers to fix salaries, tenures and other terms and conditions of employment of information commissioners.
Rejecting the Opposition's charge that the Bill would weaken the RTI Act, the government said it was fully committed to transparency and autonomy of the institution.
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