Times of India: Vijayawada: Wednesday, January 10, 2018.
In a move to
strengthen activism through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, noted Supreme
Court advocate Dr DV Rao has announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh compensation to the
kin of victims losing their lives for championing the cause of RTI Act.
After
launching a new forum called RTI Army here on Tuesday to support RTI activists
across the country, he told reporters that 56 activists had lost their lives in
the last five years. "Growing intolerance of corrupt forces is a dangerous
trend in the country. The centre should take immediate steps to protect the Act
and the activists," he felt.
He demanded
that the centre pay Rs 20 lakh ex gratia to RTI Act victims. "We shall pay
Rs 2 lakh to the kin of RTI activists who lose their lives in the hands of
goons employed by government officials who refuse to divulge information under
the RTI Act," he said and added that the RTI Act is a powerful weapon to
uncover scandals at government offices and the people should be encouraged to
make use of the law without fear.
Dr Rao said
that several scandals had come to light only due to implementation of the RTI
Act. He, however, said the governments are not willing to strengthen the RTI
Act as people in high offices are worried about their misdeeds coming to light.
He said that offering protection to RTI activists is important to viability of
the law. He said that they have launched the RTI Army only to give confidence
to the activists to continue their mission. He said that they would extend ex
gratia to all those who join the RTI Army.
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