UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi alleged on Tuesday that the Modi government is "hell-bent on completely subverting" the RTI Act and wants to "destroy" the independence of the Central Information Commission, a day after Lok Sabha passed amendments to the Act amid strong opposition protests.
The Congress Parliamentary Party leader, in a statement, said the law, prepared after widespread consultations and passed unanimously by Parliament, now stands at the "brink of extinction".
It is clear that the present central government sees the RTI Act as a "nuisance" and wants to destroy the status and independence of the Central Information Commission, Gandhi said.
"It is a matter of utmost concern that the central government is hell-bent on completely subverting the historic Right to Information Act, 2005. This law, prepared after widespread consultations and unanimously passed by Parliament, now stands at the brink of extinction," she said in the statement.
Gandhi said, "Over the past decade and more, 60 lakh of our countrymen and women have used RTI and helped usher in a new culture of transparency and accountability (in) administration at all levels."
The foundations of India's democracy have, as a result, been strengthened immeasurably, she said.
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The weaker sections of society have benefited greatly by the proactive use of RTI by activists and others, Gandhi said.
"It is clear that the present central government sees the RTI Act as a nuisance and wants to destroy the status and independence of the Central Information Commission which was put on par with the Central Election Commission and the Central Vigilance Commission.
"The central government may use its legislative majority to achieve its aims but in the process it would be disempowering each and every citizen of our country," she said in her statement.
It was not just Gandhi who strongly attacked the government over the issue, but anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare was also critical of the government move, accusing the Modi dispensation of "betraying" the people of the country by bringing an amendment to the RTI Act.
He said the landmark transparency law was passed long after Independence.
Speaking to reporters in his hometown Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra, Hazare said despite his poor health, he was ready to hit the road to safeguard the Right To Information (RTI) Act.
Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Bill amending the Right To Information 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".
Lawmakers, former information commissioners and activists on Monday condemned the amendment Bill, saying it would "undermine the independence of information commissions".
Social activist Aruna Roy, who fought a long battle to bring in the transparency law in 2005, said it was a regressive move aimed at undermining the independence of information commissions.
Former information commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 would be a "stab in the back" for the CIC and a "deathblow" to the Act.
"This means legislative safeguard to the term of commissioner is abolished and the government of the day will be empowered to prescribe any term, stature or salary," he said.
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.
Rejecting the opposition's charge that the Bill will weaken the RTI Act, the government said it was fully committed to transparency and autonomy of the institution.
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