Staff Reporter 

ITANAGAR, Oct 12: Marking the 20th anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Central government, accusing it of “corroding the very spirit of transparency and accountability” that the landmark law was built upon.
Addressing a press conference at the Arunachal Press Club (APC), APCC vice president Abraham K. Techi said, “The RTI Act, introduced by the UPA government in 2005, empowered ordinary citizens to question authority. Sadly, under the Modi regime, that power is being systematically taken away.”
Techi alleged that since 2014, the BJP government has “diluted the RTI Act through deliberate amendments” — citing the 2019 amendment that gave the Centre control over the tenure and salaries of Information Commissioners, thereby “crippling their independence.”
He also slammed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, calling it a “shield for corruption” that allows officials to withhold information under the guise of data privacy.
The APCC further raised alarm over the massive backlog of RTI appeals and vacancies in Information Commissions across the country, claiming “thousands of citizens are being denied justice through silence and delay.”
Urging citizens to defend their democratic rights, the party demanded immediate steps to restore the autonomy of Information Commissions, fix tenures for commissioners, and review “anti-transparency laws” that threaten the essence of RTI.
“The RTI Act was born to empower the powerless. Two decades later, the BJP is killing it by a thousand cuts,” Techi asserted, calling on people to “reclaim their right to know.”

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List