Bengaluru, 12 Oct

Marking the 20th anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Congress on Sunday reaffirmed its commitment to protect and strengthen the law, calling it one of the ‘greatest democratic reforms’ of modern India and warning that its erosion amounts to an erosion of democracy itself.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the historic RTI Act was enacted on 12 October, 2005, during the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh. “The Act empowered citizens to access information, ensured transparency, and acted as a lifeline for the most marginalised,” he said.

However, since 2014, Shivakumar said, “RTI has been consistently eroded.” He criticised the 2019 amendments for weakening independence and increasing executive control over Information Commissioners. “RTI enables citizens to hold power accountable, and its erosion is an erosion of democracy itself,” he said.

He also flagged the 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which broadened the scope of ‘personal information,’ undermining public audit by treating critical public data as private. 

The Central Commission currently has only two members against 11, and over 4.05 lakh appeals and complaints were pending as of June, 2024.