After posting letters, holding media interactions and sending postcards to the Prime Minister, prominent citizens have started an online petition ‘Save RTI: Citizen’s Empowerment’. Directed at the PM, the campaign seeks non-dilution of the Right to Information (RTI) Act through the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDPB), 2022.
Provisions in draft bill will dilute RTI act, say citizens
Citizens feel the provisions in the draft DPDPB will dilute the RTI Act. As reported by the FPJ, citizens feel the four provisions of the proposed Bill have shaken the activists and civil society members.
Among them are deletion of section 8 (1) (j) of the RTI Act that allows sharing of personal data for transparency. Also contentious is the sweeping definition of ‘person’ that encompasses everything from a person to Hindu undivided family, company, firm, artificial juristic person, body of individuals (incorporated or not) and institutions.
No need to change the law: Former CIC
Former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said, “This (Bill) will change only if the Prime Minister desires, so we are writing to him. It is another attempt to get our voice heard. Section 8 (1) (j) covered privacy, though slightly undefined with a very good test.” He asked how does the government expect a person of Indian origin to figure out whether an information violates DPDPB. “Also, in 17 years of the RTI Act, no significant damage has happened because of disclosures so there is no need to change the law,” he said.
Citizens said that changes to the Act will “disarm citizens” and will damage democracy, said Willie Shirsat, one of the petitioners.
Activists from across India oppose draft bill
The petition has activists from across India lamenting the fact that the Bill seeks changes to RTI when reports by the Law Commission state that it’s not needed.
The founder of Satark Nagrik Sangathan, Anjali Bhardwaj said, “The Justice Shah Commission report had said that there’s no need to amend the Act for privacy or data protection law. The RTI Act has a built-in safeguard by way of section 8 (1) (j). RTI also brought citizens at par with the Parliament or State Legislature when it comes to access to information when it said that what cannot be denied to them, should not be denied to citizens.”
An event was organised by Moneylife Foundation at the Mumbai Press Club. Among the attendees were former Congress Spokesperson Sanjay Jha, senior journalist Kumar Ketkar and senior RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar.
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