DNA: Mumbai: Wednesday, May 02, 2018.
To improve
democracy and raise the transparency level, over 200 hundred applicants will be
filing at least one RTI applications per month to improve transparency and
democracy. Right to Information Activist Forum, a newly formed forum of
activists in a meeting on Tuesday to mark Maharashtra Day decided to do so by
improving the functioning of the RTI Act.
The meet,
which was held at the Bhupesh Gupta Bhavan was attended by over 200 activists.
"Post-independence, RTI is one Act that has empowered a citizen in a real
way. I would worry when I had some 17 questions to ask a collector but now it
is the other way round," said Shivaji Raut, member of the forum. The forum
also had former judge VP Patil and Shailesh Gandhi, former central information
commissioner.
"If you
think that in a democracy citizens are kings and queens then you should look
forward to being one and seek information in a similar manner," said
Gandhi. He added, "One cannot just blame the authorities for the Acts not
functioning properly. RTI can change democracy and citizens should file to
ensure that RTI Act is implemented and not killed."
"The
idea of this forum is that people work together and work collectively,"
said Sudhakar Kashyap, the president of the forum who said that the forum is
apolitical. He added, "We will mostly file an application in SRA cases
where there is huge corruption."
"Like
the last government, even this one has ensured that a favourable person is the
chief commissioner and they kept the post vacant," said Anil Galgali,
another speaker.
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