The Tribune: Chandigarh: Tuesday, May 22, 2018.
The Right to
Information Act (RTI) is the most important weapon in the hands of Indians.
Every government officer working on any post is scared of information being
leaked to people through the RTI Act,” said Health Minister Brahm Mohindra
during a lecture on the occasion of death anniversary of former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi.
Brahm
Mohindra also announced that the Punjab Government would pay the printing costs
for the book, ‘Guide to RTI Act’, written by city resident DC Gupta.
Gupta said he
had filed as many as 400 applications through the RTI Act, “all in public
interest”.
The minister
was the chief guest in the event organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana
Committee. Purushotam Aggarwal, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU),
delivered a lecture on ‘Journey of 21st Century India, Pluralism, Secularism
and Democracy’ on the occasion.
Mohindra
said: “The technological advancement in the country is due to the efforts made
by Rajiv Gandhi.”
Referring to
a two-day BJP government in Karnataka, he said: “It was the ‘murder of
democracy’ as a party which fell short of the majority was welcomed by the
Governor to form the government in the state.” Prof Purushotam Aggarwal said
democracy should not be measured in numbers alone.
“It is
institutions, norms and practices that make up democracy. Jawaharlal Nehru
tried to establish democracy with the help of institutions.”
He said it
was complete ignorance that people were told that Nehru never met Bhagat Singh
in jail, adding that “our youngsters should have enough knowledge about the
history of the country and they shoulld not be misled.”
He also
pointed out attacks made by fringe groups against the JNU and its students and
said: “It is an attack on the country’s democracy.”
A lecturer
from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Purushotam Aggarwal is known for his
crusade against communalism, especially right wing ideology.
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