Bill amending RTI Act doesn't compromise information panel's autonomy: Javadekar

Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on Monday the bill amending the RTI Act in no way compromises the Information Commission's autonomy and asserted that the NDA government is fully committed to maintaining transparency and free flow of communication.

The Lok Sabha passed the bill on Monday 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 Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, seeks to give the government powers to fix salaries, tenures and other terms and conditions of employment of information commissioners.

Dubbing the criticism to the amendment of the RTI Act a "deliberate and mischievous" attempt by a section to malign the government, Javadekar, in a series of tweets, said that "there is no merit in their criticism as the amendment to RTI Act in no way compromises the autonomy of the Information Commission."