Right or Wrong???

Well, a lots going on about the Right to "Limited" Information act! Whats it all about???

A Bold move!

The Government of India cleared the landmark Right to Information(RTI) act in late 2005. The act was hailed world over as one of the most progressive of all time. The largest democracy in the world adds yet another feather to its cap! Well, whats the hoopla over this? What does RTI mean and what can we do using it? The act means that a common man in this country can now question the Government on just about anything. The common man is empowered to get all the information which he has the right to. I pay the tax on the income I sweat to earn. I pay the tax for all the small things I buy. I pay the tax even for the house in which I buy and live. When I pay for the elections and the running of the Government, I have every right to question if the Government does not deliver on its promise. I have all the right to ask why there are delays in developments that will better our society. I have the right to know why a particular decision was taken or more often not taken. The RTI Act serves as an answer to all this. The common man like me can now demand for information. I can choose to know the reasons instead of paying bribes. The RTI in a raw sense makes the Government accountable for all its policies and development works. The RTI puts the people on the questioning side and the Government on the answering side! A very positive move towards transperent governance!

The U turn!

Now when the RTI serves as a weapon to the common man, the Government makes a sharp U turn. The Cabinet has passed certain ammendments to the RTI which cripples the very purpose of it. In simple words of the law, the ammendment classifies "notings" as a part of non-disclosable information. What does it mean? It means all the rough notes, meeting notes which are an integral part of decision making is kept out of reach of the people. The common people can now get only the circulars and other notifications, but they can never know how or why the actual decision was arrived at. They can never know why a transfer was made or why a promotion was not given. The Government can always defend all their 'decisions' as confidential and put it out of reach. The very purpose of the RTI stands defeated!

Caught wrong-footed!

The Government on its part has always played this game. At the election time, they promise all the goodies and benefits to the people. Interestingly, they also do bring out such policies, but rarely popularise it. They dont let the people know of its true benefits. They fear the implications they themselves will have due to these policies. They always build loopholes into the policies so that they know where to hide when the problem knocks. The Bureaucrats just cannot grow up and be accountable! This has been going on for long and the Government has easily got away with it. But now the people are no longer sleeping. The Government cant just keep fooling the people around. The way the media popularised the RTI and the way people responded to it stands testimonial to it. The media has done a commendable job in taking RTI to the people. The Government on its part must have understood that its not making policies for dumb people. The people are awake to see what the Government does and make full use of the policies made for them. For a change the mouse has caught the big cat wrong footed!