Congress accuses Modi govt of 'systematically killing', 'weakening' RTI Act
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday accused the Modi government of “systematically killing” and “weakening” the Right to Information Act, which was brought by its UPA government two decades ago with an aim to bring in transparency and accountability in governance.
On the 20th anniversary of Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Congress alleged that for the BJP, RTI means "Right to Intimidate", and claimed that the ruling dispensation also made the Central Information Commission a "toothless" body with its top post as well as posts of seven information commissioners lying vacant for a longtime.
"For the BJP, RTI means Right to Intimidate,” AICC general secretary (communications), Jairam Ramesh, said at a press conference to mark the 20th anniversary of the Act, which was introduced on October 12, 2005.
Ramesh said the purpose and intention behind the revolutionary law was to bring transparency in the functioning of the government and make it accountable.
However, the Modi government brought amendments to the Act in 2019 to weaken it and turn the CIC into a "toothless organisation", he alleged.
He also claimed the Modi government brought the Digital Personal Data Protection Act to amend the provisions of the RTI Act to effectively dismantle the RTI.
The CIC is being run by just two members and the post of chief information commissioner and seven other commissioners in the body are lying vacant for the past two years, Ramesh said.
"The CIC headquarter looks like a ghost house," Ramesh said, referring to the “deep aversion” of the Modi government towards the RTI.
Ramesh also listed five reasons behind the Modi government acting against the RTI Act to weaken it.
He said an order by the chief information commissioner to provide information about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s MA degree in "entire political science" under the RTI Act was the first reason, while the second was RTI information proving the prime minister wrong when he claimed that there were crores of fake ration cards in the country.
The information obtained through the RTI Act revealed that Modi’s claims were wrong, he said.
The third reason, Ramesh said, was the information revealed through RTI that just four hours prior to the demonetisation announcement by Prime Minister Modi, the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India concluded that the move will not help curb black money or fake currency.
Citing the fourth reason, Ramesh said that under the RTI Act, somebody sought the list of 20 top willful loan defaulters of the country, and the CIC said the list had been submitted by the then-RBI governor to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The fifth reason, the Congress leader claimed, was the revelation through RTI that no black money had come back from abroad as had been promised by Prime Minister Modi ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress leader also warned that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, if implemented in its current form, will prove to be the final death knell for the RTI.
Section 44(3) of the Act says that no personal information of any individual will be accessible under the RTI Act, Ramesh said.
"This provision can be misused to deny important information on the pretext of it being 'personal information'. People holding public offices and public positions cannot hold back information on this pretext," he asserted.
Ramesh also said that he had written to the information technology minister, seeking an amendment to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, lest it can become the final death knell for the RTI.
“What is personal about activities conducted in public life,” he asked.
Ramesh recalled that RTI was the first of the several “transformative rights-based legislations” by the Congress-led UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh, which included bringing in MGNREGA, Forest Rights Act 2006, Right to Education 2009, Food Security Act 2013, and the Land Acquisition Act 2013.
The senior Congress leader claimed that even though he challenged the amendments to the RTI Act on December 17, 2019, in the Supreme Court, the matter is still pending in the apex court even after the passage of about six years.
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Chhattisgarh govt enforces austerity measures, restricts foreign travel and cuts convoy vehicles
Raipur (PTI): The Chhattisgarh government on Saturday rolled out a set of austerity measures, including restricted use of convoy vehicles for the chief minister, ministers and heads of state-run bodies, besides curbs on foreign travel at government expense.
The state has decided to implement the cost-saving steps with immediate effect to ensure efficient management of financial resources and discipline in public spending, said a directive issued by Finance Secretary Rohit Yadav.
The move follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for austerity amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The order said that only essential vehicles should be used in the convoys of the CM, ministers and office-bearers of corporations, boards and commissions, while ensuring restrained use of other government resources.
It also directed departments to take steps for a phased conversion of all official vehicles into electric vehicles in order to promote the use of EVs.
As part of fuel-saving measures, expenditure on petrol and diesel for government vehicles should be kept to a minimum, the directive said.
Vehicle pooling arrangements should also be implemented for officials of departments travelling to the same destination, it added.
The order further stated that foreign travel of government employees at state expenses will be completely prohibited except under extremely unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, prior approval of the CM will be mandatory.
To reduce administrative expenditure, departments have been instructed to hold physical meetings preferably only once a month and encourage virtual and online meetings. Regular departmental review meetings should compulsorily be conducted through video conferencing, it said.
The government also stressed the need for energy conservation in its offices, directing that all electrical equipment, including lights, fans, air-conditioners and computers, must be switched off after office hours.
The directive will remain effective till September 30 this year.
Amid the war involving the US, Israel and Iran, Modi has suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of EVs, utilising railway services for parcel movement and working from home to conserve foreign exchange.
