RTI Act Amendment: Killing One More Institution?
gfiles|August 2019
The issue of RTI Act Amendment basically is: Should the truth about the arbitrary, autocratic, corrupt and opaque functioning of government and its instrumentalities be brought in the open and made accountable? When the government is killing the Information Commission it is expressing its own fear of the truth and is projecting a false image before the public.
MG Devasahayam
RTI Act Amendment: Killing One More Institution?

THE government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is turning out to be a bundle of contradictions. It says one thing and does just the opposite. It talks about “sab ka saath, sab ka vikas” (inclusive growth) but practices the predatory and non-inclusive model of big-ticket development. It preaches “minimum government, maximum governance”, but in practice, it is the opposite of “maximum government, minimum governance”. It mouths the noble principles of ‘transparency’ and ‘empowering’ the people but goes about disempowering the common man in the most secretive manner.

Passing the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 hurriedly in Lok Sabha within three days of its introduction and then ramming it through Rajya Sabha in unconcealed haste proves the last point. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi rightly terms it as ‘disempowering every Indian citizen.’ She goes on to say: “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 passed unanimously by Parliament, now stands on the brink of extinction.”

This story is from the August 2019 edition of gfiles.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the August 2019 edition of gfiles.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GFILESView All
RTI Act Amendment: Killing One More Institution?
gfiles

RTI Act Amendment: Killing One More Institution?

The issue of RTI Act Amendment basically is: Should the truth about the arbitrary, autocratic, corrupt and opaque functioning of government and its instrumentalities be brought in the open and made accountable? When the government is killing the Information Commission it is expressing its own fear of the truth and is projecting a false image before the public.

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2019
Rob Peter To Pay Peter
gfiles

Rob Peter To Pay Peter

PSUs were assiduously built from the blood and sweat of the taxpayers. Their sales were controversial and scandalous. Some were sold to other PSUs at high prices, they were purchased by private players at ridiculous prices, and the government used the proceeds largely to lower its looming fiscal deficits

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 2019
India Inc. In Distress
gfiles

India Inc. In Distress

A fear psychosis has pervaded India Inc. unleashed by a mountain of bad corporate loans and a dictatorial insolvency law. Alam Srinivas explores how financial terror has gripped the country.

time-read
8 mins  |
August 2019
Hamster On A Wheel
gfiles

Hamster On A Wheel

The demand to ban TikTok and break the encryption technology of WhatsApp highlights the challenges that rapidly evolving digital technologies pose for India. The absence of data protection laws further exacerbates the problem, leaving millions of Indians vulnerable to behavioural manipulation by vested groups. Vivek Mukherji reports.

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2019
Bengal At Peril, Naturally
gfiles

Bengal At Peril, Naturally

Bengal is staring at all round environmental disaster, from north to south. But nobody except some environmentalists is concerned

time-read
10 mins  |
August 2019
The Future of China-India Relations
gfiles

The Future of China-India Relations

China and India are rising almost simultaneously.

time-read
10+ mins  |
October 2019
Should IAS Be Discredited?
gfiles

Should IAS Be Discredited?

There is unspoken anguish and agony among those who came into the IAS as a mission and not mercenary service. Some of them are imploding and this could turn into explosion if not promptly addressed and remedied

time-read
8 mins  |
October 2019
Honey Trap Scandal - MP Power Elite Exposed
gfiles

Honey Trap Scandal - MP Power Elite Exposed

Shocking disclosures of a middle-aged woman’s perverted ingenuity has brought to the fore the debauched underbelly of bureaucracy and politics of Madhya Pradesh.

time-read
10+ mins  |
October 2019
Adhir Chowdhury - A Local Phenomenon On A National Stage
gfiles

Adhir Chowdhury - A Local Phenomenon On A National Stage

Adhir Chowdhury, the Congress leader in this Lok Sabha, has led a controversial life. he decimated the Left in his constituency Baharampur in Bengal and soon became a strongman of the region. Charged with a number of cases, it remains to be seen how Chowdhury fares at the national level

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2019
The New Logistics Messiah
gfiles

The New Logistics Messiah

Karnataka cadre officer N Sivasailam has been creating ripples with his no-nonsense approach to the critical logistics department. he’s the single window bureaucrat blue-pencilling the logistics matrix to take the economy to the uS$5 trillion trajectory over the next five years

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2019