Madhya Pradesh govt set to clip RTI Act's wings Hemender Sharma / CNN-IBN Jun 19, 2008 http://tinyurl.com/5b8rst
BEFUDDLED: The Chief Information Commissioner, PP Tiwari, is calling it a strange move. Bhopal: There could be a threat to one of the most potent weapons citizens have for questioning the system. The Right to Information Act which has empowered citizens could see a change as the Madhya Pradesh government has through a gazette notification said they need to provide information to applicants now only in six months instead of the stipulated one month period. In an election year, the notification means information sought today will not be out till the Assembly Elections later in the year. The Chief Information Commissioner, PP Tiwari, is calling it a strange move that'll only end up misleading applicants. "Public Information Officers are bound by the RTI Act and they have to furnish information within a month's time and no one can alter this except through an Act of Parliament," Tiwari says. Information sought through the RTI Act has led to several embarrassing moments for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recent past. The Chief Minister, however, denies knowledge about the notification itself. "I don't know what it is all about. I'll first find out the details and then let you know," Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan replies. But worried activists like Ajay Dubey, who has filed more than 1,200 applications under the RTI Act, are planning protests. "They are trying to make the RTI Act such that it becomes ineffective and looses teeth. We will protest this move," Ajay Dubey says. The information that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan is involved in the dumper scam was brought into public domain through the RTI Act and this notification now appears to be part of the BJP's strategy to deal with more such information that can lead to embarrassment to the party in an election year. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/madhya-pradesh-govt-set-to-clip-rti-acts-wings/67412-3.html?xml
