Ex-CM Hooda demands repeal of amendments ‘weakening’ RTI Act

Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said RTI had been a powerful tool to empower ordinary citizens and said the BJP had been trying to weaken the law.

In a statement on the 20th anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, he said the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh and the vision of Sonia Gandhi had set a new example of transparency and accountability in the country by implementing this law on October 12, 2005. However, since coming to power, the BJP has continuously amended and weakened this law, depriving ordinary citizens of this powerful right, he added.

Hooda explained that the law was part of the UPA’s agenda, which included public welfare measures such as MGNREGA, the Right to Education, the Forest Rights Act and the National Food Security Act. “The RTI empowered ordinary people, especially the most vulnerable sections of society, to raise their voices against corruption. However, since 2014, the BJP has been continuously weakening the RTI, severely impacting the country’s transparency and democracy,” he said.

He said vacant positions in Central and state commissions should be filled transparently and expeditiously, standards of functioning should be established for the commissions and case resolution reports should be made public. He also demanded that the Whistleblower Protection Act should be immediately implemented to protect RTI activists and that diversity should be ensured by including journalists, activists, academics and women in the commissions.