Mid-Day: Mumbai: Wednesday, January 24, 2018.
The Right To
Information (RTI) Act Is A Powerful Tool For The Common Man, And It Has Helped
To Expose All Kinds Of Fraud.
The Right To
Information (RTI) Act is a powerful tool for the common man, and it has helped
to expose all kinds of fraud. But it can also prove to be a dangerous tool in
the hands of the wrong person, as was recently demonstrated by three crooks who
posed as RTI activists and tried to extort the owner of a building.
A report in
this paper stated that the trio was exerting pressure on a builder and trying
to extort Rs 1 lakh from him, claiming they had information that two banquet
halls in the building were illegal. They were brazen enough to enter the
building and demand money. They were arrested, however, as people realised that
they were frauds.
Yet, this
incident indicates a larger problem, which is the misuse of a useful and
empowering tool like the RTI Act by extortionists. If you are threatened by a
so-called RTI activist, you need to approach the police. A real activist will
not demand money from you in exchange for hushing up a wrongdoing. An activist
will not threaten the person; these are the actions of an extortionist, not an
activist. Unfortunately, because of the actions of a few, this line has become
blurred.
Do not give
in to such fraud, report it to the police and see that action is taken. An RTI
activist uses information to see that justice is done. He cannot, and should
not, threaten people. You need to see through the con and report it to the
police if your encounter with any activist smacks of threats, provocation and a
straightforward demand for money.
The police
need to come down hard on these criminals who tar the reputation of genuine
activists and make people look at them with a jaundiced eye. Cleanse the system
of these hoodlums with the strictest punishment, and let the RTI have teeth and
sheen.
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