A public hearing jointly organised by the Odisha Soochaa Adhikari Abhijan (OSAA) and the Civil Society Forum on Human Rights (CSFHR) here on Sunday expressed deep concern over the attack on RTI and human rights activists in Odisha.
OSAA State convenor Pradip Pradhan said while RTI and human rights activists have been using the RTI Act to expose corruption and irregularities in Government programmes and long pending dues of public sector undertakings and private companies and present grievances of the people before statutory bodes, frequent attacks on them by mafias, Government officials and political persons have been the order of the day.
He lamented that though activists have approached various authorities like Central Vigilance Commission, Crime Branch and other enforcement agencies seeking inquiries and action against the culprits, no justice has been given to them as yet.
He said police do not register cases on complaints filed by the activists rather they harass complainants.
Activists like Subash Mohapatra, Bapi Jena, Bansidhar Nayak, Sankar Panigrahi, Raj Kishore Nayak, Bikash Mohanty and Priyabrata Gadanayak narrated their stories of attacks and harassment.
Among others, former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, NCPRI National Convener Anjali Bhardwaj, Justice Hrudaya Ballav Das and retired IAS Aurobindo Behera spoke.
They emphasised that Government should protect the RTI and human rights activists as they are not only exposing corruptions and irregularities but also indirectly helping the Government in taking measures against such illegalities.