Delhi: NSUI holds protest march against amendments in RTI Act

National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student body of the Congress party, organised a protest march on Thursday against the amendments in the Right to Information (RTI) Act passed by Rajya Sabha last week.

NSUI's national president Neeraj Kundan strongly condemned the tampering of the RTI act.

"BJP always demanded a stronger RTI Act when they were in Opposition. And now when they are in power, they are doing their best to weaken it. The RTI act played a crucial role in exposing the fake degree of the HRD minister and the Prime Minister himself," Kundan said in a statement.

"RTI act made sure ABVP's Rs 22 lakh tea scam was exposed. It was the RTI Act which made sure ABVP's fake DUSU president Ankiv Baisoya was dismissed from Delhi University," he asserted.

The protest march, which was attended by around 400 students, was started from Arts Faculty in Delhi University's North Campus and ended at Kirorimal College.

The NSUI president said that the organisation will continue to raise its voice against anti-citizen policies of the BJP and its allies. "NSUI will start a nationwide protest in all states to fight against the amendments made in the RTI Act," he said.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill last week after an acrimonious debate and Opposition walkout amidst uproarious scenes with the government rejecting a strong demand for greater scrutiny and managing the support of parties outside the NDA fold.

The Bill was passed after rejecting several amendments and motions seeking to refer the Bill to a Select Committee of Parliament. As many as 117 members voted against the opposition motion while 75 members voted in its favour. YSRCP, BJD, and TRS also voted with the government.

The Bill seeks to empower the Centre to make rules to decide the tenure, salary, allowances and other terms of service of the Information Commissioners of the Central Information Commission and also of State Information Commissions.