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TINKERING WITH RTI ACT
The Congress in UPA is steeped in corruption scandals and have seen that it
is the RTI act that is at the root of their undoing It is good for the
people , because they will once again be united in their tirade against
Congress hippocracy. The timing of opening a debate at this juncture is
totally suspect and act of self preservation for their acts of omission and
commissions Had it not been for RTI Act the scandals would never have been
exposed Why is the Congress alone among all other parties getting jittery ?
Is the congress under an illusion that it will be at the helm of power for
times immemorial ?There is not even a whisper for the tinkering from
activists for and against the act or any stalwarts of other National Parties
The Congress is merely assuming that the political,parties will support them
In fact they will be too happy that Congress digs its own grave Sonia Gandhi
before scandals broke out, vehemently opposed any changes in the act The
RTI Act is making the process transparent for the Democratic environment. If
the Govt itself was to be transparent, then much of the ire directed against
the ruling party would have been redundant There are enough teeth in the Act
to protect privacy,foreign relations and issues connected with the security
of the Nation Even though they are broadly worded the Chief Information
officer has been fair and just in not taking shelter under the provisions
of exclusion clauses The RTI act is making the Democracy strong , by making
the administration responsive, honest and transparent Why should the Govt
feel unnerved if the participatory process of decision making is faultless ?
The illegalities and personal interests are proving a stumbling block in an
open, transparent, unquestionable atmosphere, After the decisions are arrive
at , with serious deliberations, there is no fear to disclose the real
reasons for their conclusions The fear that officers will be hindered in
not making the correct judgement is untenable and misplaced The argument
that it will cause strain in functioning and costs run ups is a cloak
of maintaining secrecy Is Democracy expensive and for whom ? The number of
applications can be reduced, if the Govt is more open Having inherited the
mind set of British dominance and our own attitude imbibed as the result, it
is difficult to adjust in the new set up It is a bigger issue and unresolved
to decide what is in public interests ? The RTI act as it now stands has
stood the test of reasonableness since 2005 and has been a means to unravel
the truth not only; about corruption in finances, but much bigger corruption
in governance and bias in decision making process The RTI act is a weapon
for the citizens to keep a check and balance on law makers and also
to participate effectively in a democratic process
Nelson Lopes Chinchinim
