A one-day district level workshop organised here by the Soochna Adhikar Milita Manch, Ganjam, expressed apprehension that dilution of the Right To information Act (RTI) under the plea of amendment would facilitate corruption in public life.
National co-convenor of NCPRI (National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information) Pradip Pradhan and rights activist Akhanda, among others, spoke.
They said that with over six million information applications filed every year, the RTI Act in India is the most extensively used transparency legislation globally.
The law has been used by people to fight corruption and wrongdoing in the system. By empowering millions of citizens across the country to question public authorities, the RTI Act has initiated the vital task of redistributing power in a democratic framework. It is critical that no amendments are brought to dilute the law in anyway, they said.
They also demanded that the Central Government should constitute lokpal as highest anti-corruption body without further delay and in the similar vein the State Governments should constitute the lokayukta.
Besides, they demanded implementation of the Whistle-blowers’ Protection Act, a law enacted by the Parliament to provide protection to the whistle-blowers exposing corruption and wrongdoings in the administration. They said that within 12 years of implementation of RTI Act, 71 RTI activists have been murdered and more than 300 brutally attacked and physically assaulted.
Activists laxman Sahu and Hrusikesh Patra were felicitated for their extensive use of RTI Act and fight against corruption. More than 200 RTI activists and ordinary citizens participated.
Manch members Kishora Patra, Guru Charan Patra, Abani Kumar Gaya, Rajendar Dalabehera, Madhu Sudan Sethi, Bijaya Swain and Bibhu Prasad Sahu coordinated the programme.