leading RTI activists will boycott the inaugural session of the annual Central Information Commission (CIC) convention, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the transparency law, to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
The activists — including Aruna Roy, lokesh Batra, Venkatesh Nayak, Anjali Bhardwaj and Nikhil Dey — who were invited for the convention, announced their boycott plans after the authorities restricted the invitations to some activists citing security concerns. The CIC has expressed its inability to invite a large number of activists and even its own staff.
The activists have in the past been an integral part of the annual convention organised by the CIC where the Prime Minister or the President used to attend the opening or valedictory session. Only one year, none of the two top dignitaries were able to attend following which then law Minister Veerappa Moily had addressed the gathering.
“We have resolved that the members of the NCPRI who have received invitations (and have not as yet been uninvited) will not attend the inaugural session.
“We will use the RTI to probe the sequence of events and will fight to establish the independence and pro-people democratic mandate of the CIC,” National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) said in a resolution passed on Thursday.
Besides inaugural and valedictory sessions, the conventions are known for technical sessions ensuring a free dialogue process between activists, RTI users and legal experts.
About two months back, in a meeting of CIC and State Information Commissions, it was decided that this year SICs will be asked to send the activists for the convention.
But this changed, after Modi gave a last minute nod to attend the inaugural session. The activists who were assured of invitation were told that they cannot be invited due to security reasons. “Due to security reasons we are not in a position to issue the Cards to two of you,” Joint Secretary of CIC SP Beck wrote in a communication two activists in Andhra Pradesh.