'CM trying to intimidate RTI applicants'

Times of India: Panaji: Monday, June 24, 2013.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar has attracted further ire for his alleged "attempts to cripple the functioning of the Right To Information (RTI) Act" in the state.

Congress party spokesman Sudip Tamankar on Sunday slammed Parrikar and the government for issuing yet another circular on the RTI, this time asking public information officers and assistant public information officers to make applicants prove their Indian nationality before providing the information sought.

He said the government had earlier issued circulars seeking details such as names and addresses of all RTI applicants from the various government departments. He said this was a clear way of trying to intimidate applicants.

"The previous Congress government had never tried to interfere with the functioning of the RTI Act," Tamankar said.

Tamankar said around 50 RTI applications filed by him have been kept pending due to the circular demanding proof of Indian nationality, adding that the government had deliberately kept the posts of the state information commissioners vacant for over a year.

Tamankar also criticized the government for its failure on the educational front. He said despite the academic year beginning weeks ago, neither textbooks nor raincoats had been provided to students under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

Tamankar demanded the chief minister's resignation for his failure in administration on multiple fronts.