Centre changing RTI Act to make it ineffective: Roy

Times of India: Jaipur: Sunday, 18 October 2015.

Social activist Aruna Roy has accused the Centre of questioning the RTI activists who were invited to attend a one-day seminar to mark the 10 years of RTI in New Delhi on Friday.

Roy flayed the government officer's intention for asking questions like what is your ideology? Your leanings are with which political party? Are you affiliated with any political party? What is you take on the new Central government? The activists were questioned while they were entering to attend the RTI programme.

"Even asking them about their family background indicates the Central government's move to repress the activists," said Roy while addressing a press conference in Jaipur. She said that government is scared of the fact that 80 lakh activists across the country are using this RTI right committed to bring transparency and good governance.

"Possibly the government is perturbed over the manner in which these RTI activists are coming up with the information making them uncomfortable," said Roy who further accused the Central government of bringing changes in the Act to make it ineffective.

Notably, Roy along with other senior RTI activists had boycott the conclave in protest of inviting just seven activists while ignoring many seniors on October 15. When Roy was asked the reason for boycott, she said, "Out of 80 lakh activists, they had invited just seven while ignoring many others who represent different regions and bodies to get the holistic picture in the RTI conclave. Secondly, the manner in which intelligence bureau officers visited the place of those invited and questioned them clears their intention to influence the activists," said Roy.

Another activist, Megha Patkar, who was also present in the press conference, expressed her concern over the rising religious intolerance, communal discords and corruption cases. "The open endorsement of mob violence and killings of writers by the leaders of the incumbent party is further threatening the situation. The statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Dadri incident was very late and weak which in unacceptable," said Patkar adding that people of Rajasthan especially of Jalore and Barmer who are awaiting bare minimum water from the Narmada dam will come at the cost of 2.5 lakh rural people displacement.

"Modi government is violating norms to increase the height of the dam so that water can be given to corporates," said Patkar who also urged the youths of Rajasthan to support the former MLA Girusharan Chabra indefinite hunger strike demanding complete ban on liqor in the state.