My RTI in "Yeh Mera India"
The Congress and the UPA remain defiantly guilty of betraying people's trust and that probably led to their going off the political power way back in 2014.. It would be interesting to note that RTI Bill was passed in the Parliament during the UPA regime and it was under them that "The Right to Information" Act 2005 became a law . Ironically one of the major reasons for the Congress led UPA fall in 2014 was RTI . Major scams that came to light through RTI then were Adarsh Housing Scam, 2 G Spectrum Scam and Commonwealth Irregularities to name the few. BJP/Modi led NDA made maximum use of these Scams to strategize their massive win that year They then almost sealed the political fate of the "Congress".
The Modi led BJP/NDA has now comeback for a second term on the strength of a massive mandate. We have been witnessing time and again since year 2014 the law of diminishing Democracy taking root and adversely affecting the functioning of RTI. For instance when citizens filled RTI appeals with RBI about Demonetization, they were refused information on range of quires from reasons for demonetization to who were all consulted and to the cost incurred for scrapping the banned notes. Remember Demonetization drive had devastating affect on our economy as well it left millions job
less. Again an RTI appeal seeking corroborating details of PM' Modi's BA degree from Delhi University was blocked
The BJP led Govt is today seeking Rajaya Sabha approval for amendment to RTI with regard to change in the terms and conditions in the appointment of Information Commissioner both in the Center and State This if approved will literally prove fatal to the independent working of Information Commissioners and they will eventually become puppets at the hands of Govt. Also the Bill seeks to do away with fixed tenure of 5 years for the Chief information commissioner and other information commissioners. The current Amendment if gets through Rajaya Sabha is bound to dilute the independence of Information Commissioners
I pray and wish the Govt in power remain sensitive and does not take any steps that can be construed as a move to trample the rights and freedom of the citizens of world's largest Democratic Nation that we call "Yeh Mera India"
The Modi led BJP/NDA has now comeback for a second term on the strength of a massive mandate. We have been witnessing time and again since year 2014 the law of diminishing Democracy taking root and adversely affecting the functioning of RTI. For instance when citizens filled RTI appeals with RBI about Demonetization, they were refused information on range of quires from reasons for demonetization to who were all consulted and to the cost incurred for scrapping the banned notes. Remember Demonetization drive had devastating affect on our economy as well it left millions job
less. Again an RTI appeal seeking corroborating details of PM' Modi's BA degree from Delhi University was blocked
The BJP led Govt is today seeking Rajaya Sabha approval for amendment to RTI with regard to change in the terms and conditions in the appointment of Information Commissioner both in the Center and State This if approved will literally prove fatal to the independent working of Information Commissioners and they will eventually become puppets at the hands of Govt. Also the Bill seeks to do away with fixed tenure of 5 years for the Chief information commissioner and other information commissioners. The current Amendment if gets through Rajaya Sabha is bound to dilute the independence of Information Commissioners
I pray and wish the Govt in power remain sensitive and does not take any steps that can be construed as a move to trample the rights and freedom of the citizens of world's largest Democratic Nation that we call "Yeh Mera India"
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