Amendments to RTI Act off the table for now TIMES NEWS NETWORK http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOINEW/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIBG&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI New Delhi: Plans to amend the Right to Information Act have been put on ice, with the Congress leadership taking up with the government the complaint of activists that the proposed changes would lead to dilution of the information law. Senior sources said the amendments will have to wait till the time government dispelled fears of rights activists of the law being weakened. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh some time ago, drawing his attention to the fear of activists. The PM and virtually the entire government feel that the amendments are necessary for smooth functioning of the government and to keep out frivolous complaints, but Singh has agreed to hold consultations with stakeholders (read rights activists). This will encourage information rights activists grouped under National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) who shot off letters and documents to the PM, DoPT minister Prithviraj Chavan and Sonia Gandhi saying that the amendments suggested by the government were unnecessary. The move comes after reports indicated an exchange of letters between Singh and Sonia with the PM indicating the need for certain amendments in the transparency law. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative’s Venkatesh Nayak said the government was not being honest in its intention. The government promised that it would identify non-strategic areas for disclosure and would improve on proactive disclosure, he said.
