RTI Act the most important democratic right: Ex-MLA

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) Communications Department chairman and former MLA Anil Bhardwaj, at a press conference on Sunday, said the Right to Information (RTI) Act is one of the most significant democratic reforms of modern India, and its weakening directly impacts the strength of democracy.

“The BJP Government should make the Right to Information Act strong and transparent again,” Bhardwaj said. “The Act was passed by the Congress-led UPA government to make governance and administration transparent and accountable, but the BJP government diluted the RTI Act by amending it.”

Bhardwaj said the historic Act, enacted on 12th October, 2005, when Dr Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, was meant to make governance more transparent and accountable.

He accused the BJP government of “continuously weakening the RTI Act”, similar to the earlier Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi.

He said a 2019 amendment diluted the autonomy of Information Commissions by allowing the Centre to decide their tenure and service conditions, thereby “compromising the transparency of the body”.

Bhardwaj criticised the 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act, and argued that the government was “treating important public data as private” to avoid disclosure of crucial information under the Act.

Highlighting the vacancies in the commissions, he said, “There are only two Commissioners in the Central Information Commission against the sanctioned strength of 11, and it is surprising that the post of Chief Commissioner is lying vacant since September 2025.”

He added that, as of June 2024, around 4,05,000 appeals and complaints were pending in 29 commissions across

the country, and about 23,000 cases were pending in the Central Information Commission alone.

Calling for urgent reforms, Bhardwaj demanded the restoration of the “independence” of the Information Commissions by repealing the 2019 amendments, immediate filling of vacancies, and full implementation of the Whistle Blower Protection Act.

He said: “On the 20th anniversary of RTI, the Congress party reiterates its resolve to protect and empower the law so that every citizen can fearlessly ask questions and get timely and truthful answers from the government.”

Congress Communications Department vice-chairman Anuj Athrey and RTI Cell chairman Ram Niwas Sharma were among the attendees of the event.