The
Hindu: Vijayawada: Saturday, 21 February 2015.
Right to Information (RTI) activist Venkatesh Naik
has stressed the need to appoint ‘champions of transparency’ as Commissioners
to the Central Information Commission.
“Very few Commissioners see themselves as
champions of transparency. Only a proactive Commissioner can help improve the
scenario,” Mr. Naik told The Hindu.
A member of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
(CHRI), Mr. Naik finds the overall situation ‘pretty bad’ as far as
implementation of RTI is concerned. “The Modi government, which harps on
transparency mantra, is dragging its feet on the appointment of the Chief
Information Commissioner (CIC). There is no sign of any interest on the part of
the government to fill this key post even when nearly 37,000 cases are pending before the
Commission,” says Mr. Naik.
On attempts by activists like him to bring in
accountability through RTI interventions, he says it is difficult to get even
basic information. “A group of Ministers was removed for their role in scams. I
asked for a copy of the Cabinet note which was denied. Basic information
related to people and the whistle blower law is turned down,” he says.
He described the situation as ‘extremely worrisome’.
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