BJP changes make RTI useless, says Rahul Gandhi
The BJP believes the truth must be hidden from the people and they must not question people in power.
New Delhi: Congress President Mr Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the BJP government over proposed changes to the Right to Information Act, saying they will render the law useless. Mr. Gandhi tweeted, “Every Indian deserves to know the truth and the BJP wants to hide the truth. The BJP believes the truth must be hidden from the people and they must not question people in power. The changes proposed to the RTI will make it a useless Act.”
He added that the changes being proposed should be opposed by every Indian. In his tweet he also tagged a letter written by National Campaign for People's Right to Information, which has challenged the amendments on the ground that they undermine the independence of information commissions.
The government on Wednesday had said it is considering a proposal to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, to frame rules on salaries and services of the chief information commissioner and information commissioners. The amendments, if cleared by Parliament, will give the government powers to fix tenures, salaries as well as other terms and conditions of service of information commissioners at the Central Information Commission (CIC). RTI Activists say that the proposed amendments, circulated among Members of Parliament, seek to do away with the parity given to information commissions in terms of salary.