(by Vanshika Krishna)
Patna: Since 2010, 20 Right to Information (RTI) activists have been murdered in Bihar. The claim in this regard was made during a jansunwai (public hearing) on the “status of RTI implementation and attacks on RTI users”. Bihar” was organized by a group of civil society organizations on Tuesday. There was a demand to set up a judicial commission to probe the killings of RTI activists.
The public hearing was presided over by a jury which included eminent social activists including Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) founder Aruna Roy, senior journalist and RTI activist Vinita Deshmukh, Anjali Bhardwaj, co-convenor of the National Right to Information Campaign. NCPRI) and RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha among others. State Information Commissioner Tripurari Sharan also spoke in the program.
“The government should adopt a mechanism to protect those who expose corruption. Parliament passed the Whistle Blower Protection Act in 2014 but till date the central government has failed to implement the law. It is high time to implement it seriously,” said Aruna.
Senior journalist and RTI activist Vineeta Deshmukh advocated a website where the information sought by slain RTI activists under the RTI Act should be uploaded. “The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) should issue circular to all Central and State Chief Information Commissioners, directing them to mandate all public authorities to comply with the mandatory Section-4 disclosure and to update it regularly. Give. These monitoring orders from the commission should go out every six months,” she said.
On the rising number of killings of RTI activists in Bihar, Bhardwaj said: “A total of 90 RTI activists have been killed in the country since 2010, of which 20 are from Bihar. In all such cases, the departments from whom the deceased were seeking information would have to undergo a special audit of all the schemes and financial matters that were being pursued.
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