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http://twitter.com/goanet --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kudos to Advocate Thalmann Pereira for his detailed,thorough expose and response to this very dangerous and illegal attempt by the Goan BJP legislator Damodar Naik to secure sensitive information about school children in Goa. Look at the justification offered by the BJP Legislator Damodar Naik – he was trying to do “some research on how many students in schools have mobile phones.” Does the Legislator plan on getting into the mobile phone business and targeting customers among Students in I to IV and X to XII? Who is he trying to fool? Or is the BJP planning to gift these students with free mobile phones as a political gimmick for the elections that will soon be round the corner? What is more shocking is the Directorate of Education for Goa directing all schools to release this information! Can the “Honourable” Minister of Education justify how he permitted the Directorate of Education to obtain and release the information from the schools? Incidentally does anyone have an updated list of the e-mail address for our MLAs in Goa so that we can raise our concerns about this shocking attempt by this BJP MLA Damodar Naik? None of them seem to access their official e-mail addresses. Perhaps the BJP MLA Damodar Naik should file an RTI to find out how many are accessing their e-mail from their official e-mail address or pose the question before the House! A bunch of rogues and a disgrace to Goans all these rotten Politicians for whom it’s Carnival and Shigmo time 365 days of the year! It’s just looting the common man, making merry, fun and frolic and monkey tricks that they are good at. Is even ONE of them a genuine and true Goan at heart and concerned about the common man? I doubt it. - Attached below is a news item from The Times of India. Further down is the open letter by Adv. Thalmann Pereira to the Minister of Education that appeared in the Goanet. We need more Goans like Advocat Thalmann Pereira to stand up and confront the motives of these Goan MLAs. Wasting the tax payer's money as well as the man-power hours instead of doing something constructive for Goans. Shame on them! BJP MLA’s RTI QUERY STIRS A HORNET’S NEST – Times of India PANAJI: BJP legislator Damodar (Damu) Naik's RTI query to the education department seeking the postal addresses, dates of birth and contact numbers — cellular or fixed line phones — of students studying in standard X and XII has raised eyebrows in certain quarters. In a letter to the department dated December 30, 2009 that was subsequently forwarded by the department to schools asking them to provide the information to the MLA, Naik also sought to know the same details about students studying in class I to IV in and around Margao. He represents Fatorda, a constituency neighbouring Margao. Questioning the propriety of seeking and furnishing of such information, advocate Thalmann Pereira said, "Giving such information is not only illegal, but downright dangerous. One does not necessarily have to be a historian to understand the potent danger inherent in the supply of such information." Pereira referred to allegations that shops belonging to a particular community were targeted by looters and arsonists during the Gujarat riots after their owners' religious identities were established on the basis of information obtained from the sales tax and labour departments. "Such pinpointed targeting of shops also took place during the Sanvordem riots in Goa," he added. Naik, however, allayed such fears. "We are not pinpointing any community and it is general information that has been sought. This sort of anxiety is uncalled for," he said. Naik claimed that he just wanted to know whether the education department had the data of students studying in schools either run or aided by the government. "Also I am doing a survey on how many students in schools have mobile phones. The information is not for any personal or political purpose," he added. *Message: 8 Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:06:01 +0530 From: "Thalmann Pareira" <thalm...@bsnl.in> To: "Goanet" <goa...@goanet.org>, <goad...@gmail.com>, <goa-research-...@yahoogroups.com>, <goanewscl...@yahoogroups.com>, "Goanet News" <news.goa...@gmail.com>, <goajou...@googlegroups.com>, "Goanet Reader" <goanetrea...@gmail.com>, <vascokarsuni...@yahoogroups.com>, <secular...@yahoogroups.com> Subject: [Goanet] An Open Letter to the Hon'ble Education Minister Message-ID: <f2.8c.03615.76e8b...@bgl-svr-asout-01> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" An Open Letter to the Hon'ble Education Minister of Goa From Mr. Thalmann P. Pereira Advocate Rani Pramila Arcade 18th June Road Panaji, Goa. Tel. 2427582 e-mail: <thalm...@sancharnet.in> To The Hon'ble Education Minister Government of Goa Secretariat Porvorim Bardez, Goa. 17-02-2010. Subject : Dangerous RTI Query Dear Sir, 1. This Open Letter is addressed to you in the context of some letters written by the officials of the Directorate of Education addressed to the Principals / Headmasters of all Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa. 2. The first letter in question is from the Assistant Director of Education (Adm.), Panaji, Goa, bearing Ref. no. 28-263-Adm.I/B/2009/Part-file/II/53 dated 07-01-2010, by which a letter dated 30-12-2009 received from Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, Hon'ble M.L.A. of Fatorda Constituency under the Right to Information Act, 2005, has been forwarded to the respective Zonal Offices of the Directorate for onward transmission to all the Principals / Headmasters of all Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa, with directions to submit the required information directly to Mr. Damodar G. Naik. 3. As it appears that the Principals / Headmasters of various Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa were distinctly uncomfortable giving the desired information, the Directorate has issued yet another letter bearing Ref. no. ACAD/R.T.I.-Act/2009/172 dated 21-01-2010 by which the very same letter dated 30-12-2009 received from Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, has been again forwarded, this time directly, to all the Principals / Headmasters of all Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa, with directions to submit the required information directly to Mr. Damodar G. Naik. 4. Non-compliance with the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a very serious matter having penal consequences. 5. It therefore ostensibly appears that the officials of the Directorate of Education are very conscious of their duties under the Act and have therefore forwarded the letter from the Hon'ble M.L.A. to the Principals / Headmasters for compliance. 6. The problem lies with the mechanical fashion in which the officials of the Directorate of Education appear to be functioning with absolutely no dedication to their larger public duty to thoroughly vet a request before considering it as worthy. 7. This becomes clear when one reads the letter dated 30-12-2009 written by Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, Hon'ble M.L.A. of Fatorda Constituency under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The purpose of this Open Letter addressed directly to you is precisely to lay bear this letter dated 30-12-2009 as well to alert you directly to your constitutional duties in the matter, without the intermediation of any of your subordinate officials who cannot be trusted to advise you correctly, given the sorry state of affairs which reveals total non-application of their minds to such a serious issue. 8. Let us therefore begin by quoting extensively from the letter dated 30-12-2009 bearing Ref. No. -nil- written by Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, Hon'ble M.L.A. of Fatorda Constituency, addressed to the Public Information Officer, Education Department, Panjim-Goa, with the Subject caption "Issue of Information under Right to Information Act" and which reads as follows:- "Dear Sir, Kindly give me the following information under Right to Information Act. 1) Names of the students studying in Goa in Xth and XIIth std. along with their perfect postal residential address, date of birth and contact number like parents mobile or students mobile / Landline Number etc. 2) Names of the students studying in 1st to 4th Class in and around Margao Schools with their postal addresses and contact number, D.O.B. Hope you will do the needful at the earliest. Thanking you, sd/- Damodar (Damu) G. Naik MLA FATORDA." 9. No wonder the various Principals / Headmasters of the Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa were distinctly uncomfortable giving the desired information. But the very fact that the officials of your Department have thought it fit to forward this letter not once but twice with clear-cut directives, only goes to show that they have made up their minds that such information can be given to anybody who applies for it. 10. In our humble opinion the giving of such information is not only illegal but downright dangerous. 11. We shall not even bother to waste your valuable time with any allegations about the political affiliations of the Hon'ble MLA of Fatorda Constituency since he belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 12. But you will surely remember that one of the allegations made during the infamous Gujarat Riots of 2002 was that the shops belonging to a particular community were very pin-pointedly targeted for looting and arson based on detailed lists of their owners' religious identities as gleaned from official lists obtained from the Sales Tax and Labour Departments. 13. You will also surely remember that such pin-pointed targeting of shops also took place during the Sanvordem Riots in Goa. 14. Therefore it is very remarkable indeed that the officials of your Department, who are all supposed to be Teachers, appear to have learnt nothing from History! One can only say: "Woe betide an Education Department that is headed by Historians." 15. But one does not necessarily have to be a Historian to understand the patent danger inherent in the supply of such information. Ask the lowly constable in any Police Station and he will inform you that kidnappers study and obtain precisely the very type of information that is today sought officially by the Hon'ble M.L.A. of Fatorda. One shudders to think as to what could be the consequences if some professional kidnappers or rapists were to write to the Education Department for the very same detailed ("perfect") information and your officials were to so non-chalantly issue dictates to hapless Principals and Headmasters to entertain the kidnappers and serial rapists and extortionists and paedophiles and murderers in their chambers and give them all the desired information upon payment of Rs. 2/- per page! 16. If you are by now convinced that indeed it is a very serious matter, we request you to immediately intervene in the matter and issue the necessary instructions to all your Departmental officials and also directly to all the Principals / Headmasters of all the Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa, to reply to Mr. Damodar G. Naik on the following lines:- "To Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik Hon'ble Member of the Legislative Assembly, Fatorda Constituency, H.No. 4379, Near Sai Mandir, Gogol, Margao, Goa. Sub: "Issue of Information under Right to Information Act" Sir, With reference to your letter dated 30/12/2009 under above-captioned subject which is forwarded to us by the Director of Education, Goa under Ref No. ________ dated ________ and received in our office on _______ , it is stated as follows:- (1) The information requested by you at Sr. No.1 in your letter, viz. Names of the students in Goa in Xth and XIIth Std along with their perfect postal residential address, date of birth and contact number like parents mobile or students mobile/landline number etc., cannot be furnished to you for the following reasons:- (a) We are exempted from obligation to give the information under section 8(1) (e) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, being entirely information available with our school administration in our fiduciary relationship with our students and their parents, and we are not satisfied that larger public interest warrants disclosure of the information; (b) We are exempted from obligation to give the information under section 8(1) (g) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, since disclosure of the information would endanger the life or physical safety of the children studying in our school and may expose them or their families to criminal offences like abduction / kidnapping / extortion. (c) We are exempted from obligation to give the information under section 8(1) (j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 since the entire information relates to purely personal information of the children studying in our school and the disclosure of the information has no relationship to any public activity or interest, and may in fact cause totally unwarranted invasion of the privacy of our students or their parents/families, and we are satisfied that larger public interest does not justify the disclosure of such information. (d) None of the information is severable under section 10 of the RTI Act, 2005. (e) Under Section 3 (8) of the Goa Children's Act, 2003, the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are taken as rights of the child in Goa and are legally enforceable. Under Article 16(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989: "No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour or reputation." Article 16(2) further reads as follows: "The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks." We are satisfied that providing the information requested would violate the above laws which are enacted to provide protection to minors. (2) The information requested by you at Sr. No.2 in your letter regarding the names of the students studying in Class 1st to 4th in and around Margao Schools with their postal addresses and contact number, and Dates of Birth, also cannot be furnished to you for the same above reasons. (3) For reasons above, you request is hereby rejected. Yours sincerely, (Principal / Headmaster) Copy to:- (1) The Director of Education, Directorate of Education, Panaji-Goa. (2) Hon'ble Minister for Education, Secretariat, Porvorim, Goa. (3) Hon'ble Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of the Rights of the Child, New Delhi. (4) Hon'ble State Information Commisioner of Goa, Patto Plaza, Panaji, Goa. 17. It would also be necessary for you in your capacity as the Hon'ble Minister of Education to immediately take up the issue with the Information Commissions at the Central and State levels, and the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights at the Central and State levels so that all such mischievous and patently dangerous requests for "Information" are dealt with sternly, if necessary by suitable amendments to the laws concerned. 18. In case any Principals / Headmasters have already furnished such information, it would be your duty to order the recall all such information before it is misused. 19. It would also be necessary for you to have a talk with the officials of the Directorate of Education and find out the reasons for their non-application of mind in the matter. After you do that, you are welcome to address an Open letter to the people of Goa and specially parents that they can sleep peacefully at night without any fear of the privacy or safety of themselves and their children being endangered. 20. Thanking you, Yours sincerely sd/- (Thalmann P. Pereira)* Message: 8 Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:06:01 +0530 From: "Thalmann Pareira" <thalm...@bsnl.in> To: "Goanet" <goa...@goanet.org>, <goad...@gmail.com>, <goa-research-...@yahoogroups.com>, <goanewscl...@yahoogroups.com>, "Goanet News" <news.goa...@gmail.com>, <goajou...@googlegroups.com>, "Goanet Reader" <goanetrea...@gmail.com>, <vascokarsuni...@yahoogroups.com>, <secular...@yahoogroups.com> Subject: [Goanet] An Open Letter to the Hon'ble Education Minister Message-ID: <f2.8c.03615.76e8b...@bgl-svr-asout-01> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" An Open Letter to the Hon'ble Education Minister of Goa From Mr. Thalmann P. Pereira Advocate Rani Pramila Arcade 18th June Road Panaji, Goa. Tel. 2427582 e-mail: <thalm...@sancharnet.in> To The Hon'ble Education Minister Government of Goa Secretariat Porvorim Bardez, Goa. 17-02-2010. Subject : Dangerous RTI Query Dear Sir, 1. This Open Letter is addressed to you in the context of some letters written by the officials of the Directorate of Education addressed to the Principals / Headmasters of all Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa. 2. The first letter in question is from the Assistant Director of Education (Adm.), Panaji, Goa, bearing Ref. no. 28-263-Adm.I/B/2009/Part-file/II/53 dated 07-01-2010, by which a letter dated 30-12-2009 received from Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, Hon'ble M.L.A. of Fatorda Constituency under the Right to Information Act, 2005, has been forwarded to the respective Zonal Offices of the Directorate for onward transmission to all the Principals / Headmasters of all Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa, with directions to submit the required information directly to Mr. Damodar G. Naik. 3. As it appears that the Principals / Headmasters of various Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa were distinctly uncomfortable giving the desired information, the Directorate has issued yet another letter bearing Ref. no. ACAD/R.T.I.-Act/2009/172 dated 21-01-2010 by which the very same letter dated 30-12-2009 received from Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, has been again forwarded, this time directly, to all the Principals / Headmasters of all Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa, with directions to submit the required information directly to Mr. Damodar G. Naik. 4. Non-compliance with the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a very serious matter having penal consequences. 5. It therefore ostensibly appears that the officials of the Directorate of Education are very conscious of their duties under the Act and have therefore forwarded the letter from the Hon'ble M.L.A. to the Principals / Headmasters for compliance. 6. The problem lies with the mechanical fashion in which the officials of the Directorate of Education appear to be functioning with absolutely no dedication to their larger public duty to thoroughly vet a request before considering it as worthy. 7. This becomes clear when one reads the letter dated 30-12-2009 written by Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, Hon'ble M.L.A. of Fatorda Constituency under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The purpose of this Open Letter addressed directly to you is precisely to lay bear this letter dated 30-12-2009 as well to alert you directly to your constitutional duties in the matter, without the intermediation of any of your subordinate officials who cannot be trusted to advise you correctly, given the sorry state of affairs which reveals total non-application of their minds to such a serious issue. 8. Let us therefore begin by quoting extensively from the letter dated 30-12-2009 bearing Ref. No. -nil- written by Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik, Hon'ble M.L.A. of Fatorda Constituency, addressed to the Public Information Officer, Education Department, Panjim-Goa, with the Subject caption "Issue of Information under Right to Information Act" and which reads as follows:- "Dear Sir, Kindly give me the following information under Right to Information Act. 1) Names of the students studying in Goa in Xth and XIIth std. along with their perfect postal residential address, date of birth and contact number like parents mobile or students mobile / Landline Number etc. 2) Names of the students studying in 1st to 4th Class in and around Margao Schools with their postal addresses and contact number, D.O.B. Hope you will do the needful at the earliest. Thanking you, sd/- Damodar (Damu) G. Naik MLA FATORDA." 9. No wonder the various Principals / Headmasters of the Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa were distinctly uncomfortable giving the desired information. But the very fact that the officials of your Department have thought it fit to forward this letter not once but twice with clear-cut directives, only goes to show that they have made up their minds that such information can be given to anybody who applies for it. 10. In our humble opinion the giving of such information is not only illegal but downright dangerous. 11. We shall not even bother to waste your valuable time with any allegations about the political affiliations of the Hon'ble MLA of Fatorda Constituency since he belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 12. But you will surely remember that one of the allegations made during the infamous Gujarat Riots of 2002 was that the shops belonging to a particular community were very pin-pointedly targeted for looting and arson based on detailed lists of their owners' religious identities as gleaned from official lists obtained from the Sales Tax and Labour Departments. 13. You will also surely remember that such pin-pointed targeting of shops also took place during the Sanvordem Riots in Goa. 14. Therefore it is very remarkable indeed that the officials of your Department, who are all supposed to be Teachers, appear to have learnt nothing from History! One can only say: "Woe betide an Education Department that is headed by Historians." 15. But one does not necessarily have to be a Historian to understand the patent danger inherent in the supply of such information. Ask the lowly constable in any Police Station and he will inform you that kidnappers study and obtain precisely the very type of information that is today sought officially by the Hon'ble M.L.A. of Fatorda. One shudders to think as to what could be the consequences if some professional kidnappers or rapists were to write to the Education Department for the very same detailed ("perfect") information and your officials were to so non-chalantly issue dictates to hapless Principals and Headmasters to entertain the kidnappers and serial rapists and extortionists and paedophiles and murderers in their chambers and give them all the desired information upon payment of Rs. 2/- per page! 16. If you are by now convinced that indeed it is a very serious matter, we request you to immediately intervene in the matter and issue the necessary instructions to all your Departmental officials and also directly to all the Principals / Headmasters of all the Higher Secondary Schools and High Schools in Goa, to reply to Mr. Damodar G. Naik on the following lines:- "To Mr. Damodar (Damu) G. Naik Hon'ble Member of the Legislative Assembly, Fatorda Constituency, H.No. 4379, Near Sai Mandir, Gogol, Margao, Goa. Sub: "Issue of Information under Right to Information Act" Sir, With reference to your letter dated 30/12/2009 under above-captioned subject which is forwarded to us by the Director of Education, Goa under Ref No. ________ dated ________ and received in our office on _______ , it is stated as follows:- (1) The information requested by you at Sr. No.1 in your letter, viz. Names of the students in Goa in Xth and XIIth Std along with their perfect postal residential address, date of birth and contact number like parents mobile or students mobile/landline number etc., cannot be furnished to you for the following reasons:- (a) We are exempted from obligation to give the information under section 8(1) (e) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, being entirely information available with our school administration in our fiduciary relationship with our students and their parents, and we are not satisfied that larger public interest warrants disclosure of the information; (b) We are exempted from obligation to give the information under section 8(1) (g) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, since disclosure of the information would endanger the life or physical safety of the children studying in our school and may expose them or their families to criminal offences like abduction / kidnapping / extortion. (c) We are exempted from obligation to give the information under section 8(1) (j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 since the entire information relates to purely personal information of the children studying in our school and the disclosure of the information has no relationship to any public activity or interest, and may in fact cause totally unwarranted invasion of the privacy of our students or their parents/families, and we are satisfied that larger public interest does not justify the disclosure of such information. (d) None of the information is severable under section 10 of the RTI Act, 2005. (e) Under Section 3 (8) of the Goa Children's Act, 2003, the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are taken as rights of the child in Goa and are legally enforceable. Under Article 16(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989: "No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour or reputation." Article 16(2) further reads as follows: "The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks." We are satisfied that providing the information requested would violate the above laws which are enacted to provide protection to minors. (2) The information requested by you at Sr. No.2 in your letter regarding the names of the students studying in Class 1st to 4th in and around Margao Schools with their postal addresses and contact number, and Dates of Birth, also cannot be furnished to you for the same above reasons. (3) For reasons above, you request is hereby rejected. Yours sincerely, (Principal / Headmaster) Copy to:- (1) The Director of Education, Directorate of Education, Panaji-Goa. (2) Hon'ble Minister for Education, Secretariat, Porvorim, Goa. (3) Hon'ble Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of the Rights of the Child, New Delhi. (4) Hon'ble State Information Commisioner of Goa, Patto Plaza, Panaji, Goa. 17. It would also be necessary for you in your capacity as the Hon'ble Minister of Education to immediately take up the issue with the Information Commissions at the Central and State levels, and the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights at the Central and State levels so that all such mischievous and patently dangerous requests for "Information" are dealt with sternly, if necessary by suitable amendments to the laws concerned. 18. In case any Principals / Headmasters have already furnished such information, it would be your duty to order the recall all such information before it is misused. 19. It would also be necessary for you to have a talk with the officials of the Directorate of Education and find out the reasons for their non-application of mind in the matter. After you do that, you are welcome to address an Open letter to the people of Goa and specially parents that they can sleep peacefully at night without any fear of the privacy or safety of themselves and their children being endangered. 20. Thanking you, Yours sincerely sd/- (Thalmann P. Pereira)