After institutions like the CBI, the Election Commission, the Lok Pal and the RBI, now the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre has moved to weaken the Right to Information Act (RTI). A bill which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday will bring sweeping changes in the terms and conditions of appointment of the chief information commissioner (CIC) at the Centre and the information commissioners in the states. In the amendment bill, the government has done away with the fixed tenure of five years for the chief information commissioner and the information commissioners. Their salaries, too, have been altered. Both will now be separately notified by the government of the day.
The government can now either threaten or lure the chief information commissioner and information commissioners with arbitrary removal or extension and curtailment or increase in salary, depending upon their suitability for the ruling dispensation. Also, as per the RTI Act of 2005, the public authorities are required to make disclosures on their organisation, functions, structure, powers and duties of their officers’ and employees’ financial information. If such information is not provided by the public authorities on their own, the citizens have the right to demand the same from them under the RTI Act. ‘Public authorities’ refer to ministers and government servants, among others. Now with the powers of CIC and the SICs clipped, people might find it difficult to access these kinds of information. For example, now people may never know how much money PM Modi spends on his foreign tours. Also, access to his controversial degree will remain a mystery forever. This amendment will basically kill the very essence of the RTI Act, which was to empower ordinary citizens and give them access to all information.