The Hindu: Thiruvananthapuram: Wednesday,
July 13, 2016.
“It is
something we didn’t even dream would be passed, when we began the struggle in
1990s,” says Right to Information (RTI) activist Aruna Roy.
“The ‘strong’
Act was a bonanza for us. We have got the right to question legitimately.
Earlier, if you question the government, you were called a naxalite, a
terrorist or an anti-national. Now, thousands can legitimately question the
government,” Ms. Roy, who was here to attend a meeting on Corruption-free
Kerala, said.
“It has
unpacked many centres of power. That is why there is so much reaction and
violence. Power bases are based on information control. When you dismantle
power, the people who have acquired illegitimacy through money and other ways
of controlling suddenly get disturbed and they react,” she pointed out.
“The culture
of governance is also changing. Earlier, it used to be a culture which
emphasised secrecy. Now the culture is one which has to pay at least lip
service to transparency. It has created a whole heap of subtle fundamental
changes in the relationships between people.”
“Whether it
is between the politician and the electorate or the bureaucracy and the people,
everywhere there is a difference. This is a palpable difference. This
legitimate use of law has actually showed us the potency of a law-like RTI,”
Ms. Roy said.
Challenges:
Listing the
challenges faced by the RTI Act, Ms. Roy said proactive disclosure was
extremely poor as there was no punitive subsection to it.
“The
government is also passing new laws which are, at the inception itself, not
under RTI. So now, we have to make sure that all laws are covered by RTI. They
are looking at various ways in which they can weaken the law and the future of
a transparency regime.”
She said
people should proactively struggle to make the law better and ensure its
effective implementation.
‘The
legitimate use of law has shown us the potency of a law like the RTI Act.’
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