Charging BJP with diluting the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Mahesh Kumar Goud said that the 2019 RTI amendments curtailed the independence of Information Commissions by bringing their tenure and service conditions under Central control, making commissioners vulnerable to government pressure.
Speaking to the media on the 20th anniversary of the RTI Act on Sunday (October 12), he recalled that under the 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, the amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI expanded the definition of “personal information.” This allowed authorities to deny information previously available to the public for their interest such as voter lists, government fund usage, and expenditure details.
“This amendment has opened the doors to conceal public information. RTI became a lifeline for the poor and marginalised, giving them access to rights related to ration distribution, pensions, arrears, scholarships but the BJP is now blocking it all,” he alleged.
The Congress, he said, demands the repeal of the 2019 RTI amendments and a review of Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act to safeguard transparency. He urged the government to fill all vacancies in Central and State Information Commissions immediately and establish clear performance standards and public reporting mechanisms.
