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Mumbai Civic chief’s remark irks RTI activists

The statements have got them worked up enough to send Ajoy Mehta a notice and a letter seeking an apology

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BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta
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RTI users and activists are up in arms against the municipal commissioner’s statement that there is a nexus between activists who use RTI and BMC officials. he had said that he was working to break that nexus. The statements have got them worked up enough to send Ajoy Mehta a notice and a letter seeking an apology. 

“I respect him as a commissioner but how many cases has he filed till now on people who had nexus that he is making such sweeping statements? And why does he not put out a list of corrupt officials before us with the instances on which there was corruption? Why was he silent on such corrupt activities till now?” asked Kamlakar Shenoy, an RTI user who sent a legal notice to Mehta and looks to file a petition in the high court. 

Shenoy, in his notice, has sought scrapping of  preparing of list of complainants that deputy municipal commissioners have to prepare. 

A similar list was prepared and submitted by assistant municipal commissioner Devendra Jain. Advocate Pankaj Pandey whose named featured in it filed a defamation suit against him. “He has filed a writ on summons that were issued on him. The commissioner’s have no such power to ban someone from using RTI,” said Pandey. 

Shailesh Gandhi, former information commissioner, too wrote a letter to Mehta seeking an apology from him. 

“You behaved like a feudal lord and declared a reputed NGO, Praja, and its employees ‘persona non grata’ and subsequently your officers are refusing to respond to RTI queries on this ground! This is completely illegal and an insult to citizens,” wrote Gandhi stating that even the Supreme Court did not have power to curtail fundamental right of a citizen to get information. 

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