TBS News: Dhaka: Friday, February 13, 2026.
The Right to Information (RTI) Forum has strongly criticised the amendment to the Right to Information Act, 2009, calling it a "farce" carried out by the outgoing interim government.
In a statement issued today (10 February), the forum said Ordinance No-30 of 2026, approved by the President on 9 February to amend the RTI Act, fails to reflect the core spirit of the law and undermines transparency.
The forum also expressed serious concern over the prolonged failure to appoint the Chief Information Commissioner and other commissioners, despite repeated demands. This, it said, has effectively rendered the Information Commission – funded by public money – non-functional, creating major obstacles to the implementation of the RTI Act during the interim government's tenure.
According to the statement, the RTI Forum had earlier prepared 37 amendment proposals to strengthen the law and formally presented them at a press conference on 6 March 2025, submitting the same to the chief adviser.
The forum later provided further opinions to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in line with recommendations from the Public Administration Reform Commission. On 25 January 2026, after learning that an ordinance was being prepared, the forum urgently requested the inclusion of key amendments and contacted advisers multiple times to stress their importance.
However, the forum said the final ordinance ignored several critical issues, including expanding the definition of "information" to include note sheets, broadening the scope of authorities under the law to cover private entities working on behalf of the government and registered political parties, and ensuring the status, remuneration and benefits of the Chief Information Commissioner and commissioners are equivalent to judges of the Appellate and High Court divisions.
It also demanded stronger accountability mechanisms in cases involving fines.
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