Activists protest amendment in RTI Act, petition President

The recent amendment in the Right Information Act has upset RTI activists in Mumbai who have started sending dissent notes and expression of protest to public representatives on their mobile phones.

Parliament has passed the Bill amending the RTI Act amid objections by the Opposition which alleged that it was an attempt to undermine the law and make the transparency panel a "toothless tiger".

The RTI amendment bill seeks to give the government powers to fix salaries, tenures and other terms and conditions of employment of information commissioners.

In a related development, Shailesh Gandhi, former Central Information Commissioner (CIC), had launched an online petition at portal Change.org, urging President Ram Nath Kovind to defend citizens fundamental rights and return the Bill for Parliaments reconsideration.

The petition had received 1,49,683 signatures till Thursday evening and it has been submitted to Kovind's office, he said.

"I am appealing to you not to sign the RTI amendment Bill. I beseech you to send it back to Parliament for reconsideration. This is a cherished right which has been codified by the RTI Act, 2005.

"It has been rated amongst the best transparency laws in the world," Gandhi has said in the petition dated July 27.

"This amendment has been brought out in a hurry and would dilute the autonomy granted to the constitutional body.

"It must be ensured that the commission and its functionaries perform their duties independently and with complete autonomy," Gandhi told PTI, when asked what prompted him to launch the online petition.

Gandhi, in a meeting convened by an NGO on Wednesday, appealed to people from every section of the society to protest the amendment. Several RTI activists, including Samir Jhaveri, attended the meeting.

RTI activist Anjali Damania said there is an urgent need to raise voice against the government move to "cripple" the RTI Act.

Damania said she will hold meetings with other activists to chalk out the further course of protest action.

Meanwhile, several other RTI activists on different social media platforms, including one WhatsApp group "RTI Fighters", have shared the numbers of elected MPs and MLAs.

Members on these social media sites are sending dissent notes (in form of messages) to elected representatives, urging them to "save" the RTI Act.