Indian Express: Bhubaneswar: Monday,
August 22, 2016.
Manoranjan
Panda narrates the tale of a law student from Odisha who’d used the Right To
Information Act to fight corruption and help the underprivileged.
Since 2005,
the Right to Information (RTI) Act has built an impressive trajectory. In an
era of global youth rebellion, it seems to be opening up new space for India’s
young to demand people’s right to know. Taking a cue from this new trend of
students diggin up dirt, with the help of RTI, Rohit Kumar, a 24-year-old law
student of KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, who tenaciously used RTI to fight
corruption, has been preparing himself to provide justice to poor and
underprivileged people. Rohit, who has been using the RTI Act since 2012, is
the youngest face in a growing brigade of information warriors. The young
crusader takes on the system for everything from inedible hostel food to
corruption in ration shops – looking for truth and ensuring justice.
Currently
pursuing internship at the chamber of Prashant Bhushan in New Delhi, Rohit has
so far submitted more than 200 RTI applications and 125 first appeals to both
the State and Central Government offices including the Prime Minister’s Office
(PMO). Rohit had also asked Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s office for details of
individuals who made official requests for appointment and those who had been
granted an appointment. Responding to the application, the CMO said no records
or list of appointments were maintained and so could not be revealed. Earlier,
Rohit had sought similar information from PMO.
The
information was denied on the ground that it may threaten the security and
sovereignty of India. “This is ridiculous. I have challenged the PMO’s decision
with the central information commission (CIC),” he said. A 2011 CIC order had
ruled that PMO should make public the list of the visitors coming to meet the
PM excluding only the sensitive meetings. To the young crusaders, the charm of
RTI far outstrips the dangers. It allows them to break the monotony of everyday
life and dream of leaving behind a legacy.