Right to Information Act, a Casualty of Corrupt Bureaucrats and Politicians
'Right to Information' act has become a powerful tool in exposing corruption at top places of the government. But at the same time, the fates of Indian "information warriors" committed to disclosing corruption, rampant among Indian bureaucrats and politicians, are in jeopardy. While Indians are celebrating their 63rd Independence Day, most of the Indian toiling masses are reeling under every possible human suffering.
While every law has loop holes, RI act is one glaring example. After having been exposed due to RI act, politicians are already considering modifying the act to escape from it. Even ex-chief justice of the Supreme Court K G Bala Krishnan has asked the government to exempt the Chief Justice from the RI act just before his retirement. Equality has become casualty here.
Life threats
While the people of the top echelon are thinking this way, information activists are facing threats to their lives. Some have even been murdered. One Amit Jethwa, environmentalist and activist of RI act, was killed by two anonymous gunmen in front of the Gujarat high court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat; he had filed a ‘Public Interest Litigation’ naming a well-known politician among many people involved in illegal mining in the protected Gir Forest. He acquired the names utilizing RI act. Satish Shetty, another activist, was killed earlier this year; he had exposed, utilizing RI act, some corrupt land deals pertaining to the country’s first express highway between Mumbai and Pune.
There are at least eight deaths and twenty serious attacks in the past year related to invoking of RI act. These killings and attacks pinpoint how the lawmakers and bureaucrats are enlightened to implement an act they themselves made. The Right to Information act came into existence after several peoples' struggles, only in 2005. It is supposed to focus light on corruption in the government. But in practice, it is bringing more hardships to people because people at the helm are not ready to give up their right to be corrupt.
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