DNA: New Delhi: Thursday, October
20, 2016.
Despite
directions from the government to protect RTI activists, there is no let up in
the attacks on the information seekers across the country. Close on the heels
of murder of an RTI activist Bhupendra Vera in Maharashtra on October 15, fresh
statistics show that some 311 cases of attacks and harassment cases against RTI
activists were reported between October 12, 2005 and October 17, 2016. This
also includes murder of 56 information seekers also during the period.
Maharashtra
tops the list with 52 instances of attacks, including 10 alleged murders and at
least two suicides in the last 11 years, followed by Gujarat with 34 incidents,
including eight alleged murders and one case of suicide. Last three years have
reported 56 such cases, including 16 alleged murders of activists seeking
information in public interest.
More so,
there have been 130 instances of attacks or assaults, including attempts to
murder of RTI users, during this period. The total number of persons attacked
or assaulted could be more than 150 because more than one person was attacked
in some incidents. Again Maharashtra tops this list with 29 incidents, followed
by Gujarat (15 incidents), Delhi (12 incidents), Karnataka (10 incidents),
Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh (9 incidents each).
The
popularity of this legislation can be gauged from the fact that since its
enactment, 1.75 crore people have used this law seeking information from the
government, making it a big interface between public and government.
In July last
year, Vice President Hamid Ansari had highlighted the phenomenon of attacks on
RTI users saying that this shows the vulnerability of information seekers.
"Police
authorities in states have to be sensitive to this and take effective steps to
prevent the occurrence of such incidents. Exemplary punishment of the
perpetrators would send a strong message around," he said.
Venkatesh
Nayak, Programme Coordinator at the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
said the Whistleblowers Protection Act, adopted in 2014 is not equipped to
protect RTI users. The amendments to this Bill are pending in the Rajya Sabha.
"Under
the whistleblower protection law, a citizen will be treated as a whistleblower
only if he or she makes a complaint to the competent authority such as the
Central Vigilance Commission, about a case of corruption or any offence
committed by a public servant," he said. In a large majority of cases the
victims sought information in public interest, even before obtaining it or let
alone acting on it. He demanded a new mechanism by empowering the Information
Commissions working in sync with other public authorities such as the police,
the courts, the Human Rights Commissions, Vigilance Commissions or Lokayuktas
to protect RTI users from harm at every stage.
58 deaths :
Since the RTI
Act came into force fully in 2005 at least 56 individuals are said to have paid
the price of their lives for demanding transparency and accountability in
government. 51 murders and 5 suicides linked to the RTI to seek information in
public interest. 17 of the RTI users attacked or harassed are women. One woman
died while trying to save her RTI-activist father-in-law from a murderous attack
in Haryana.