Hyderabad: Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh who was scheduled to introduce the RTI Amendment Bill, post-lunch in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, did not do so.
This has been taken to mean that the government has deferred the Bill which has run into much opposition. This will be the third failed attempt to amend the RTI Act, thanks to the power of scores of Indians who vehemently opposed the attempt.
The Modi-led NDA government had included the Right to Information (amendment) Bill 2018 in the business to be taken up during the 15th session of the 16th Lok Sabha.
However, the government had concealed the proposed amendments in the RTI Bill. From the limited information available in the public domain, it is understood that the NDA wants to transfer the power of fixing tenure and salaries of central and state information commissioners to its ambit.
This has been strongly criticised, particularly by RTI activists. It is believed that this would give the Centre too much authority, and throttle the flow of crucial information. The amendment will also come as a blow to the Information Commission.
RTI activist D. Rakesh Reddy said if the Bill is passed, the Central government would have the power to fix the tenure of central and state information commissioners, which currently is five years.
“It will also have the power to decide the salaries and allowances of the information commissioners. This would compromise the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission and turn it into an extended arm of the government,” he said. However, the government has deferred the Bill.
