Economic Times:Saturday, 24 September 2011.
NEW DELHI: In the corridors of power in Delhi and beyond, a three-letter acronym has left some of the mightiest politicians and officials befuddled, embarrassed and powerless.
The RTI, or the Right to Information Act, which compels the government to share information about its functioning with its citizens on demand, has acquired the reputation of a four-letter word among India's rulers.
Its lethal nature was on full display this week it was the powder keg that blew the lid off a simmering ministerial feud and lit a new fire in the government's backyard.
Politicians and bureaucrats are increasingly finding that the law they birthed with great pride in 2005 is directing uncomfortable posers at them from neutral citizens to prejudiced rivals alike.
In the latest instance, an RTI query, made by a Delhi advocate Vivek Garg, resulted in communication on the 2G telecom spectrum allotment between the finance ministry, led by Pranab Mukherjee, and the Prime Minister's Office being made public.
One of those letters points to the timid stance adopted by Mukherjee's colleague P Chidambaram, the finance minister at the time of allotment in 2008, in the handouts.
The opposition is now using this to accuse Chidambaram of being culpable in the case, putting him and the government on the defensive in a case closely tracked by millions of people.
If the RTI has left the Congress embarrassed in the Centre, its rivals are faring no better in other parts of the country. "Frankly, I was surprised the politicians enacted the RTI," says well-known RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal.
The ruling UPA, which claims credit for introducing RTI, has borne the brunt of the people empowerment enabled by the law. Previous political storms triggered by the RTI include the letters between Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi on RTI amendments; in the telecom scam, the communication between Singh and the then-telecom minister A Raja; the exchange between the PM and the Chief Justice of India on the declaration of assets by judges; letters from three sports ministers that flagged off the corruption in the 2010 Commonwealth Games spending.
Revelations like these make RTI a silent, but growing, concern gripping ministers and bureaucrats, who were groomed under the protective cover of the Official Secrets Act. "It has taught them to be constantly and extremely vigilant while discharging their responsibilities," says Veerappa Moily, minister of corporate affairs.
Almost every noting and reasoning that shapes their decision-making is now prone to public scrutiny.
Since ministers and officers are now extremely cautious about RTI's reach, there may also be a case of it slowing down the decision-making process," says BK Chaturvedi, former cabinet secretary, who otherwise terms it an "excellent legislation" that is "ushering in an era of transparency and is acting as an effective tool against corruption."
The RTI, or the Right to Information Act, which compels the government to share information about its functioning with its citizens on demand, has acquired the reputation of a four-letter word among India's rulers.
Its lethal nature was on full display this week it was the powder keg that blew the lid off a simmering ministerial feud and lit a new fire in the government's backyard.
Politicians and bureaucrats are increasingly finding that the law they birthed with great pride in 2005 is directing uncomfortable posers at them from neutral citizens to prejudiced rivals alike.
In the latest instance, an RTI query, made by a Delhi advocate Vivek Garg, resulted in communication on the 2G telecom spectrum allotment between the finance ministry, led by Pranab Mukherjee, and the Prime Minister's Office being made public.
One of those letters points to the timid stance adopted by Mukherjee's colleague P Chidambaram, the finance minister at the time of allotment in 2008, in the handouts.
The opposition is now using this to accuse Chidambaram of being culpable in the case, putting him and the government on the defensive in a case closely tracked by millions of people.
If the RTI has left the Congress embarrassed in the Centre, its rivals are faring no better in other parts of the country. "Frankly, I was surprised the politicians enacted the RTI," says well-known RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal.
The ruling UPA, which claims credit for introducing RTI, has borne the brunt of the people empowerment enabled by the law. Previous political storms triggered by the RTI include the letters between Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi on RTI amendments; in the telecom scam, the communication between Singh and the then-telecom minister A Raja; the exchange between the PM and the Chief Justice of India on the declaration of assets by judges; letters from three sports ministers that flagged off the corruption in the 2010 Commonwealth Games spending.
Revelations like these make RTI a silent, but growing, concern gripping ministers and bureaucrats, who were groomed under the protective cover of the Official Secrets Act. "It has taught them to be constantly and extremely vigilant while discharging their responsibilities," says Veerappa Moily, minister of corporate affairs.
Almost every noting and reasoning that shapes their decision-making is now prone to public scrutiny.
Since ministers and officers are now extremely cautious about RTI's reach, there may also be a case of it slowing down the decision-making process," says BK Chaturvedi, former cabinet secretary, who otherwise terms it an "excellent legislation" that is "ushering in an era of transparency and is acting as an effective tool against corruption."
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