Manmohan Singh joins the neuter RTI political club

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants a critical review of the Right to Information (RTI)Act. This has raised eyebrows as it comes within a fortnight of two of his ministers voicing concern over the RTI Act and its “misuse”. There appears to be a concerted move to cut RTI to size.

It also comes within a month of ‘2G spectrum note’ controversy — provided to an RTI activist in reply to an application — which brought the war between Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home minister P Chidambaram out in the open. The note had suggested that as Union finance minister in 2008 Chidambaram could have stopped the 2G scam.

Since then, corporate affairs minister M Veerappa Moily and law minister Salman Khurshid have in separate interviews demanded a review of the RTI Act to stop its misuse as it has been apparently affecting government functioning. The act that Singh and his ministers have put in the dock has been praised by Congress chief and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi as one of the best in the world. The party too has at different occasions said the nation should thank Gandhi for getting the transparency instrument.

But on Friday morning, Singh said, “Even as we recognise and celebrate the efficacy and the effectiveness of the RTI Act, we must take a critical look at it. There are concerns that need to be discussed and addressed honestly.” He was speaking at the sixth annual convention of the Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi.  

“A situation in which a public authority is flooded with requests for information having no bearing on public interest is something not desirable,” said Singh while asking for devising a way to deal with “vexatious demands for information” without hindering the flow of information to those whose demands genuinely serve public interest.

The prime minister said another concern that has been raised was that RTI could end up discouraging honest, well-meaning public servants from giving full expression to their views. “I think we need to remember that a point of view brought under public scrutiny and discussion in an isolated manner may sometimes present a distorted or incomplete picture of what really happened in the processes of making the final decisions.”  

Taking a view that RTI should not “adversely affect the deliberative processes in the government”, he said, “We must also take a critical look at the exemption clauses in the RTI Act to determine whether they serve the larger good and whether a change is needed in them.”

He urged the participants to come up with concrete suggestions. “There are also issues of privacy. The Act does have provisions to deal with privacy issues but there are certain grey areas that require further debate,” Singh said.

The prime minister also spoke of Protection of Whistleblowers Bill, stating that once it becomes and Act, it would strengthen the RTI. “We expect this law to be enacted in the next few months and it would, among other things, help in prevention of violence against those who seek to expose wrongdoings in our public administration,” he said.

Singh said the government wanted to make RTI a more effective instrument for ensuring transparency and accountability in administration. He said the convention was taking place at a time when there was a vigorous ongoing debate on issues of corruption and governance.

Since its enactment in 2005 by UPA-1, several instances have come up, wherein government had wanted to amend (read dilute) the RTI Act but due to timely intervention of activists all such attempts failed. A few months ago, there was a plan to limit an RTI query to one subject and 250 words. However, it was shelved after RTI activists raised a hue and cry.

Asked about PM’s call for critical review, RTI activist and team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal told DNA: “India’s RTI Act is one of the finest in the world. It doesn’t require amendment. It only needs proper implementation.”