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RTI Act: V.P. Singh, Karat oppose changes

Staff Reporter

They cannot pass these changes without our support, says Left leaders

NEW DELHI: In a boost to the campaign against making any changes to the Right to Information Act, the former Prime Minister, V.P. Singh, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat and Community Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan and its secretary D. Raja on Monday opposed any changes to the Act and said these would be opposed in Parliament.

Extending their support to the campaign, all the leaders reached Jantar Mantar in the morning where Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pandey had been sitting on an indefinite hunger strike for the past few days. However, in view of the strong support to the cause extended by the various political parties, Mr. Pandey broke his fast on Monday.

Mr. Karat said the Left parties had demanded to know from the Manmohan Singh Government why it wanted to bring in these amendments and if there was any specific area or issue within the RTI Act which was a source of problem. "We have not got any proper answer till date. We know this amendment will not get through during this session of Parliament. In fact, we have told the Government not to introduce the Bill at all. If there is no agreement on it then it will not come up even during the next session," he stated.

Mr. Singh said having made this law with great difficulty, it was a matter of regret that those who wanted to hide their wrongdoings had conspired to take a step backward. "I extend strong support to the campaign and oppose the amendments," he said. He also suggested that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talk to not only those who are in Parliament but also to those who are part of the campaign.

Mr. Bardhan said the party does not feel there was any need to amend the Act. So it has been decided to support the campaign. Recognising that the weapon of file notings being open to public scrutiny was very important and would ensure that bureaucrats thought carefully about the decisions they took and politicians about the pressures they put, Mr. Bardhan said if they have any problems, they must come out and talk openly.

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