Right to information under threat
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought the nation to the threshold of an economic crises, but he can never take any criticism from anyone for his decisions. Even when he was the CM of Gujarat, he always worked on silencing his detractors. He didn’t even as much as criticize the genocide of a community that happened in 2002, but gave a rather silent concurrence to the whole incident. He targeted activist Teesta Setalvad who was working for the victims and dancer Mallika Sarabhai who spoke against the perpetrators. He continues the same approach even after he has become the PM and expects all others to concur with him and not ask questions or criticize.
This is the whole reason as to why he’d want to bring some damaging amendments to Right to Information act that is the finest testimony of transparency and democracy at work. So long as he was the CM, he worked to silence the Lokayukta and finally left it without teeth. Now after being the PM he is postponing the appointment of Lokpal. The last government led by
Manmohan Singh may have committed a few blunders with neo liberal policies under their UPA government. But their biggest achievement was to bring in RTI act of 2005 strengthening the fight of a common man to access democracy in administration and state matters. One could know so many facts about the government for a mere Rs 10, rightfully so. Every department, except for a few, were answerable to the application filed by anybody who sought information on matters relating to larger good, except for really sensitive areas such as security of the nation etc.
Many people unearthed the scams such as 2G and others of last government, using the same RTI route. This led to ministers like Raja and others being shunted out of office, and jailed for their role in corruption. Even at village panchayat level, an application and fee of Rs 10 could lay bare some of the most pertinent facts to administration and decisions that affect large section of people, within a stipulated time for response. In the neo liberal time, RTI was a shield for people to protect themselves against being fooled.
And such a powerful tool would undergo some massive changes now. A bill was supposed to be tabled in the parliament on July 19 but that has been postponed now. The Modi government is bent upon making this bill a defunct one for various reasons. If this is passed in the current session, people will lose the most empowering access they have to administrative matters. The organisations that are working to safeguard this bill and opposition parties have already voiced their opinion against this. But the government is saying this amendment is aimed at bringing better administration in terms of services of Information Commissioner and salaries of people involved. But if this amendment is through, it is sure to give access to government interference in the matter.
Many RTI activists had declared a war against corruption using the same route. Scams worth thousands of crores were being unearthed through this. Many activists had to lose their life for being on the right path. Many still live under threat. This being the case, Modi government trying to snatch the most powerful weapon owned by people, is deplorable.
During his early days as PM, he had declared ‘Na Khaunga Na Khane Dunga…’ He is yet to fulfil any of the promises he made at the beginning of his term. Vyapam scam of thousands of crores was unearthed in MP, where BJP is in power. Many RTI activists who tried to bring out more facts have been done to death so far. Yet, PM Narendra Modi safeguarded CM Chauhan.
Now, with just a year to go in the office, he is calling for a namesake meeting to appoint Lokpal, while denying the rightful place for Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge. Hence the Congress has boycotted the meeting since Kharge has been mentioned as ‘special invitee’ who would not have any power to advise or make any constructive suggestions to the committee. Even the Supreme Court has expressed its dissatisfaction over delay in appointment of Lokpal.
On the other hand, government want to camouflage information relating to corruption and hence it is weakening the RTI act. Capitalist cronies like Nirav Modi, Choksi and others have been looting banks and escaping to other nations. CBI judge Loya who was hearing case on charges of corruption against Amit Shah met a mysterious end. And the news of his death was given a forced burial. At times like these, to weaken the RTI act that empowers the last person in the society, is a very condemnable thing.
One of the intended amendments now says if the RTI applicant dies, the application/query needs to be dismissed. Though this bill was to be tabled, the information was kept out of people’s reach and that of opposition parties too who would insist that the proposed amendments be made public before being passed or implemented. On the surface, though this seems like an arrangement to streamline the salary to RTI Commissioners at state and central levels, people’s movements need to be proactive to oppose this and ensure the act is not weakened.
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Not surprised EC gave itself clean chit: Cong slams poll panel on Haryana complaints
Warns ECI of legal action over 'condescending' tone
New Delhi, Nov 1: The Congress on Friday hit out at the Election Commission after it rejected allegations of "irregularities" in Haryana assembly polls, saying if the poll panel's goal is to "strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality", then it is doing a "remarkable job" at creating that impression.
The opposition party claimed that the EC's reply was written in a tone that is condescending and warned that if the poll panel persists with such language then it would have no choice but to seek legal recourse for getting such remarks expunged.
The Congress's response came days after the EC rejected allegations levelled by it over "irregularities" in assembly polls, saying the party was raising "the smoke of a generic doubt" about the credibility of an entire electoral outcome as done in the past.
The Congress said it is not surprised that the ECI has examined its complaints and "given itself a clean chit". The answer given to the question of the machines' fluctuating batteries seeks to confuse rather than clarify, it said.
"At any rate, the ECI reply is nothing more than a standard and generic set of bullets on how the machines function rather than a specific clarification on specific complaints. In short, while our complaints were specific the ECI response is generic and focused on diminishing the complaints and the petitioners," the Congress said.
In its letter to the EC signed by nine senior Congress leaders, including general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, the party said, "We have carefully studied your response to our complaints. Not surprisingly, the ECI has given a clean chit to itself. We would normally have let it be at that. However, the tone and tenor of the ECI's response, the language used, and the allegations made against the INC compel us to submit the counter-response."
The Congress letter said that if the Commission grants a recognised national party a hearing or examines issues raised by them in good faith it is not an 'exception' or 'indulgence' but it is the performance of a duty required to be done.
"If the Commission is refusing to grant us a hearing or refusing to engage on certain complaints (which it has done in the past) then the law allows recourse to the higher courts' extraordinary jurisdiction to compel the ECI to discharge this function (as happened in 2019)," the letter said.
The Congress leaders, who had petitioned the EC alleging irregularities in the polls, said every reply from the EC now "seems to be laced with ad-hominem attacks" on either individual leaders or the party itself.
"The ECI's reply are written in a tone that is condescending. If the current ECI's goal is to strip itself of the last vestiges of neutrality, then it is doing a remarkable job at creating that impression," the party said in its letter to the EC.
"Judges who write decisions do not attack or demonise the party raising the issues. However, if the ECI persists then we shall have no choice but to seek legal recourse to expunge such remarks," said the letter signed by Ramesh, K C Venugopal, Ashok Gehlot, Bhupinder Hooda, Ajay Maken, Abhishek Singhvi, Uday Bhan, Partap Bajwa and Pawan Khera.
They also said that the "pattern" sought to be identified by the ECI in its reply is "disingenuous" as sometimes acting on complaints immediately is the key.
"If they are not redressed on the ground then they become redundant. And then the only remedy available is an Election Petition which is a lengthy process taking years to resolve. Thus, we approach the ECI with whatever information we have, and the ECI with the vast resources at its command, examines and reviews this information to see if the same is correct. Many times, the ECI has found our information to be correct. Other times, not so. But we do not name and shame the ECI for those moments after the Election is over," they said.
The Congress said if they were "bad faith actors", then they would never engage with the ECI to begin with. "We would focus on naming and shaming the Commission with examples from the ECI's own recent history which do not shroud it with glory," it said, adding that they would have never engaged in that case.
The Congress said it has sent over a hundred complaints against the prime minister and home minister, but "the ECI has taken action in precisely zero complaints, while calling our party president and former party president to account for their actions/speeches".
"We would point out how the ECI never published a dissent note, actively suppressing it instead, by a former Commissioner in this regard. We would point out that the ECI has almost always fought any move for transparency and increase in VVPAT verification numbers, with the same having to be ordered by the Supreme Court. We challenge the ECI to fact check the above since it finds the INC's misgivings to be based on phantoms," the Congress said.
In a strongly-worded letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the poll panel had said such "frivolous and unfounded" doubts have the potential of creating "turbulence" when crucial steps like polling and counting are in live play, a time when both public and political parties' anxiousness is peaking.
The BJP retained power in Haryana winning 48 of the 90 seats in the October 5 assembly polls.
