DNA: New Delhi: Sunday, July 15, 2018.
A number of
civil rights organisations have decided to hold protests across 15 states
against Modi government's decision to amend the RTI Act in the monsoon session
of Parliament without making the amendments public.
The Right to
Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018 is listed in the legislative business of
Parliament for the government to take up during the monsoon session.
"It is a
matter of grave concern that the government has refused to make public the
contents of the amendment bill. This manner of secrecy and lack of any public
consultation is a violation of the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy and
undermines basic democratic principles," National Campaign for People's'
Right to Information (NCPRI) said.
In fact, the
details of the proposed amendment have also been denied in response to RTI
applications, the organisation said. It is seeking support from all political
parties on the issue.
The NCPRI
will hold nationwide protests on July 18, the first day of the monsoon session,
in collaboration with National Alliance of Peoples Movements (NAPM),
Anti-Corruption Team (ACT), National Right to Food Campaign, the National
Federation of Indian Women and state level RTI campaigns.
The NCPRI had
apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a letter on May 25, 2018 about
government's plan to amend the RTI Act without making the proposed changes
public or seeking any comments or suggestions from people on these changes.
"This
manner of legislating important laws undermines people's democratic right to
know and participate in the legislative process and prevents public scrutiny of
the provisions of a proposed bill," said the letter.
The letter
also brought to the notice of the PM that in 2014, a Pre-legislative Consultation
Policy was adopted by the government which mandates that all draft legislations
(including subordinate legislation) be placed in the public domain for 30 days
for inviting comments and their summary be made available on the concerned
ministry's website prior to being sent for Cabinet approval.
Other Demands
Besides
opposing amendments to the RTI Act, protestors will also seek
operationalisation of the Whistleblowers Protection Act and the Lokpal law, and
repeal of electoral bonds.