Government trying to dilute RTI, says BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday strongly criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for inviting a "critical look" at the Right to Information Act, and accused him of attempting to dilute the legislation.

The prime minister, addressing the 6th Annual Convention of Information Commissioners here, said the act has been effective but there were "concerns that it could discourage honest, well-meaning public servants from giving full expression to their views".

"Even as we recognise and celebrate the efficacy and the effectiveness of the Right to Information Act, we must take a critical look at it," Manmohan Singh said. "There are concerns that need to be discussed and addressed honestly."

BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy took strong exception to Singh's remarks. "We never expected that the prime minister, through his words, will tell the country that money is wasted on RTI and the time of officials is being wasted," he said. "We think this is a big indication that there are attempts to dilute the Act."

Coming in the wake of comments by his ministerial colleagues, including Salman Khurshid and M Veerapa Moily for a relook at the RTI, the prime minister's remarks stirred the debate on reviewing the landmark legislation.

The government had faced a major embarrassment last month after a finance ministry note on 2G spectrum named Home Minister P Chidambaram for not insisting on the auction of precious airwaves when he was the finance minister. The note, obtained through RTI, forced Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to come up with a clarification. 

In his speech, prime minister said there was need to deliberate on ways to deal with the "vexatious demand" without hindering information to those whose demands genuinely serve public interest. He said the legislation for the protection of whistleblowers would further strengthen the RTI, and hoped the law would be enacted in the next few months.

Calling for a balance between the need for disclosure of information and limited time and resources available with public authorities, the prime minister said it was not desirable to have a situation in which an authority was flooded with requests for information having no bearing on public interest.

"We need to remember here that a point of view brought under public scrutiny and discussion in an isolated manner may sometimes present a distorted or incomplete picture of what really happened in the processes of making the final decisions," he said. "The right to information should not adversely affect the deliberative processes in the government," he added.

The prime minister said the government was committed to a comprehensive agenda of legal, executive and technology initiatives to curb corruption and improve governance, and the RTI was a powerful tool in that direction.

"We wish to make the Right to Information an even more effective instrument for ensuring transparency and accountability in administration...we are all agreed that empowering our citizens with this right was a huge step forward in the direction of curbing corruption and improving process of governance," he said.

Calling for a critical look at the exemption clauses in RTI Act, the prime minister urged the participants at the convention to come up with concrete suggestions. He said the RTI had provisions to deal with privacy issues but there were certain grey areas that required further debate. He said the convention was taking place at a time when there was "a vigorous debate on the issues of corruption and governance".

The prime minister said public authorities must endeavour to voluntarily put information in the public domain without waiting for applications from information seekers.

Following the 2G note controversy, there have been suggestions from ministers for a relook at the RTI Act. Khurshid said earlier this month that misuse of the RTI was affecting institutional efficacy and efficiency with even bureaucracy becoming reluctant to record its opinion.
 
Moily had called for a national debate on the scope of the RTI, saying it transgresses independent functioning of the government.