Pinarayi’s decision goes against RTI, says CPI state secretary

Times of India: Thiruvananthapuram: Monday, January 23, 2017.

CPI state secretary Kaanam Rajendran has flayed chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's statement that cabinet decisions cannot be revealed through the Right to Information Act.

"The stand that cabinet decisions cannot be made public can in no way be justified. The LDF has the responsibility to protect the Right to Information Act. Any decision taken against the interest of the Act is not acceptable," said the CPI state secretary while inaugurating an AITUC dharna here on Sunday.

The Right to Information Act has been enacted to bring in more transparency in governance.

If you are talking against the Act, then it would be regarded as an attempt to sabotage the Act. Hence, there should not be any move against the Act which was enacted in the larger interest of the people, he added.

Only the files and decisions pertaining to internal security or country's security have been exempted from the law, he said.

This was the first time the CPI has come out against the chief minister's refusal to make public the decisions taken by the cabinet.