Moneylife: Pune: Friday, December
09, 2016.
While the
Indian government has declared that secrecy was very essential before
demonetisation was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the fact is, the
decision affected every citizen, as crores of citizens have been standing in
queues since 9th November, battling hardships and cash crunch in banks and
automatic teller machines (ATMs). Hence, to obtain information regarding the
decision falls not only under the fundamental rights of citizens under the
Constitution but also under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Venkatesh
Nayak, research scholar and co-ordinator of Commonwealth Human Rights
Initiative (CHRI) urges citizens to procure information under RTI regarding
this decision. Nayak has steered this campaign by himself filing two RTIs one
to the Department of Currency Management, Reserve Bank of India and the other
to Under Secretary (Currency I & II), Department of Economic Affairs in the
Ministry of Finance.
Citizens have
right to know about exact procedures followed before the government announced demonetisation.
Also, they can seek information on what were the deliberations of Ministers and
officers involved in the decision-making process and much more.
Nayak, in
his RTI applications has sought the following information:
Apropos of
S.O. No. 3407(E) notified in the Gazette of India, dated 8 November 2016,
regarding the decision to cease bank notes of denomination Rs500 and Rs1000 as
legal tender, I would like to obtain the following information from your public
authority, under the RTI Act:
To the
Reserve Bank of India
1)
A clear photocopy of the minutes of all meetings of the
Central Board of Directors regarding the aforementioned subject matter, held
till date, along with the papers, presentations or other documents placed
before them at every meeting;
2)
A clear photocopy of all communication along with
Annexures if any sent to the Government of India regarding the decisions/
recommendations of the Central Board of Directors, subsequent to the meetings
specified at para #1 above;
3)
A clear photocopy of all submissions/ petitions/
representations or communication, by whatever name called, from any person/
organisation/ institution or entity, by whatever name called, regarding
demonetisation of currency notes, since 24 May 2014 till date
4)
A clear photocopy of all responses sent by your public
authority to the senders of the submissions/ petitions/ representations or
communication, by whatever name called, specified at para #3 above;
5)
A clear photocopy of all file notings and correspondence
held by your public authority in hard copy or electronic form, including emails
regarding demonetisation of currency notes.
To the
Ministry of Finance:
1)
A clear photocopy of the entire Cabinet Note along with
Annexures, if any, on the aforementioned subject, that was put up to the Union
Cabinet for its decision;
2)
A clear photocopy of all correspondence and file notings
held in hard copy and electronic form containing the deliberations of Ministers
and officers involved in the decision-making process on the aforementioned
subject matter;
3)
A clear photocopy of any document constituting evidence
that the aforementioned subject matter was placed in the public domain for
comments from the general public prior to the submission of the Cabinet Note
specified at para #1 above for its consideration and action; and
4)
A clear photocopy of all submissions/ petitions/
representations or communication, by whatever name called, from any person/
organisation/ institution or entity, by whatever name called, regarding the
aforementioned subject matter, since 24 May 2014 till date.
Nayak says,
“Readers who have the right to seek information under India's RTI Act must
formally ask these and more probing questions to demand disclosure of the
deliberations of all public servants involved in the latest demonetisation
exercise. I request citizens to feel free to use or adapt these formats to seek
transparency in the decision-making process or amend the queries as they think
best. This is a matter of immense public interest affecting every citizen of
India. There is no reason why any of this information should be withheld from
public scrutiny.”
“Unfortunately,
instead of paying serious heed to stories of illegal transactions, people who
raise such queries are being dubbed supporters of black money and corruption
not only by elements in the political establishment but also by other citizens
who have not thought these issues through. Many a concerned citizen wants to
live in a "Swachch Bharat" instead of becoming a cheerleader for a "dry
washed" economy,’’ Nayak added.
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