Activists slam minister for remark on RTI applicants

RTI activists on Friday slammed minister of state for agriculture, Sadabhau Khot for his comments on RTI applicants and usage of RTI. Khot is reported to have said that some applicants regularly file RTI applications and misuse it. He asked authorities to take action against such by filing cases against them.

"What he has said is not justified and rubbish. There are forums that can take action and if they have proof, they should take action against people who are misusing RTI," said Bhaskar Prabhu, who runs Mahiti Adhikar Manch, an NGO that promotes and propagates usage of RTI.

Echoing his views, Vijay Kumbhar, another RTI activist said, "Such a comment coming from a minister is not justified. Why should there be a need to say such a thing when they can just act and be done with it? If there are people misusing the Act, a case should be filed and has been filed in the past. His comments seem unnecessary. Coming from a minister, it can wrongly influence the thought of officials," said Kumbhar.

Anil Galgali, another activist said, "They are defaming RTI movement with this. In last 12 years they have been talking like that. If there are misuse, they can be done filing a case instead of talking about it.