Amendments to RTI Act 'final assault' to decimate legislation: Sonia Gandhi

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday accused the Modi government of diluting the powers of the Information Commissioners through amendments to the RTI Act and termed it as a "final assault" to decimate the historic legislation.

The amendments passed by the government will ensure that no Information Commissioner shall be free from interference and signalling by the Modi government, she said in a statement.

"We have opposed these amendments in Parliament and will continue to oppose them in practice. We condemn this piecemeal destruction of our democratic institutions and will continue to fight the Modi government in these self-serving actions which are the very opposite of national interest," she said.

The RTI Act, she said, was a historic legislation that gave birth to an institution that in the last 13 years has become a "sentinel of democracy, transparency and accountability to the common man."