Aruna Roy launches online campaign against govt's plan to amend RTI Act.

Times of India : Chennai : Thursady, Auust 1, 2013.

Aruna Roy, social activist and member of the National Advisory Council, on Tuesday launched an online campaign against the government's plan to amend the Right To Information Act. 

The campaign launched by Roy and other activists wants the government to refrain from any amendments to the Act that came into force in 2006. 

"It is reported that the government is considering the introduction of a bill in Parliament to amend the RTI law, as a sharp reaction to the recent Central Information Commission order, which declared six political parties to be public authorities under the RTI Act. Such a move to amend the Act will reinforce and confirm the suspicions of many that the political establishment intends to cover acts of corruption and arbitrary use of power," read an online petition to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 

The petition urged the Prime Minister to consult NGOs and social activists before amending the Act. "In 2009, when amendments were being proposed to the RTI Act, the concerned minister of the government had assured Parliament, in response to a question, that 'non- governmental organisations and social activists will be consulted on the proposed amendments.' We would, therefore, expect the government to hold wide ranging public discussions before they think of amending the law in any way," said the petition.The petition had received almost 2,000 signatures at the time of writing this article.