Shillong, Oct 13: State Congress Party leader Manuel Badwar today reflected on the 20th anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, expressing concerns over the trajectory of the landmark legislation.
He criticised the central government’s attempts to dilute and weaken the RTI Act, particularly since 2014, when the Congress lost power to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He pointed out that the RTI Act was originally envisioned as a powerful tool to return power to the people, enabling citizens to access information, ask questions related to public policy, monitor government spending and hold authorities accountable. However, he noted that the central government’s actions have undermined the autonomy of the Central and State Information Commissions.
The Congress leader strongly opposed the 2019 RTI Amendment, which stripped away the independence of the State Information Commissions (SICs) and the Central Information Commission (CIC). The amendment gave the central government control over the tenure, salaries and service conditions of Information Commissioners, making these institutions vulnerable to executive interference.
Badwar commended the growing number of RTI activists in states like Meghalaya, who are stepping forward to question and expose wrongdoing. However, they expressed concern over the safety and security of activists, who face threats and intimidation.
