Right to hide truths

In India today, the enactment of a law does not necessarily mean it serves the intended purpose. Laws by themselves are losing their teeth. Add to this the public fears about a lack of fair play and corruption in the justice-dispensation systems. In sum, it would appear that the general public is taken for a ride and their interests are subverted at will by successive governments both at the Centre and in the states. So too with the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which is facing odds for several reasons ever since its highly publicized introduction by the Manmohan Singh government in 2005. Now, a controversial amendment is made to the law, which saw the INDIA bloc of several opposition parties led by the Congress raising their protest. They are demanding repeal of Section 44(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act by saying it destroys wholesale the Right to Information Act. These parties came up with a memorandum to the Union Information Minister Ashwinin Vaishnaw, urging the government to back-track from this step.
Rights activists and others said the amendments “restricted access to public data and information– a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. According to them, “these changes removed provisions that enabled the public to seek accountability and expose corruption in government entities and among officials.” These are serious matters and no responsible government in a democracy can afford to keep a deaf ear to such airing of public fears.
Transparency in our governance system is highly advocated by one and all; but in practice this is never made a reality. The nation’s systems are increasingly getting corrupted due to corruption at the political and bureaucratic levels. Bribes are given in crores; and the exchequer is losing money and assets in crores. Narendra Modi who formed the government at the Centre in 2014 had promised to root out corruption. Under his over ten years of rule, the entire system got much more corrupt even as there have been no accusations against Modi or his ministers yet about such practices. The BJP is drawing in huge money to fight polls – and there’s no clarity where this money comes from. Quid pro quo is now the new normal. There yet is no authority to question or check corruption at the highest level also because the LokAyukta and associated systems have been mismanaged and turned toothless due to the overbearing, shady influence from those who run governments. Vested interests are having a roll, right under Modi’s nose. He is showing little interest in reforming the corrupt systems and giving it new strengths. Most RTI enquiries do not elicit the desired information. A wall is erected around the establishment, within the cover of which shady deals are happening all the time. Little wonder, then, that the Modi government attempted to dilute the RTI law.