Business Standard: Washington:
Saturday, August 03, 2013.
A group of
Indians and Indian Americans held a protest in front of the Indian Embassy here
opposing the proposed amendment in the RTI Act that excludes six political
parties from its purview.
"We as
citizens of India are empowered by the RTI Act demand that it not be
amended," the protestors said in a letter memorandum submitted to the
Embassy which was addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"The Act
has enabled the making of informed choices and strengthened participatory
democracy by enabling the citizens of India to monitor and access services
throughout the country" said the letter.
"Any
amendment to the RTI Act would undermine and weaken the process of realizing
various constitutional promises," it added.
The
protestors asked the Indian Government to hold wide ranging public discussions
before they think of amending the law in any way.
"With
scams at dime a dozen, there is a serious credibility crisis in India, this
well-researched and well-thought-out ruling by the Central Information
Commission, a full bench no less, was one of the few shining lights," said
Arun Gopalan, one of the organisers of this campaign and a volunteer with
Association for India's Development.
"Now
this retrogressive move by the Cabinet will kill any hope of reestablishing
credibility" he said.
"We have
to continue pushing for ever greater transparency to ensure the evolution of
India's democracy" adding that the UPA government let go of a historic
opportunity to set an example for political accountability.
"We hope
that protests like these will encourage them re-engage civil society, whose
role was pivotal in establishing the landmark RTI Act in the first place,"
said Rohit Tripathi, founder of Young India Inc.
.JPG)
.JPG)
