Vacancies in the Central Information Commission, the backlog of applications and the attempts to weaken the RTI Act raise fresh concerns about the government’s commitment to transparency.
ON December 6, Vigyan Bhawan, a government-run convention centre in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, was filled with hundreds of people from across the country— those implementing the Right to Information (RTI) system and those using it. They were there to attend the 12th Annual RTI Convention, a government-sponsored stocktaking exercise on the implementation of the landmark transparency law.
The chief guest and guest of honourwereVicePresidentM.Venkaiah NaiduandMinister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh. Like every year, their speeches received close attention from those assembled as their pronouncements signify the government’s intent, focus and future commitment towards the implementation of the RTI system.
In his half-hour-long speech, Venkaiah Naidu spoke about the need for transparency and accountability in the conduct of the government as envisaged in theRTIAct.He said: “Information can be empowering if it is authentic and that’s why I coined a phrase, ‘Information with confirmation is more than ammunition’.” Significantly, he suggested that information must be given to the applicant in his “mother tongue” or “at least in the scheduled languages”. This was well received.
Jitendra Singh’s pronouncements, however, had the opposite effect, provoking a bit of a controversy. In his relatively brief address, he spoke about appointment of Information Commissioners (ICs) in the Central Information Commission (CIC), the top adjudicating authority for the RTI Act, and suggested possible changes to the rules for filing RTI applications with a stated intent of cutting down on the backlog and the number of applications that are filed every year. He claimed that “for the first time” the government had filled all vacancies of ICs.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
