RTI? Not anymore!

'Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas'—the new motto of the Modi 2.0 government has already been punctured. I begin with this emphatic statement because the recent amendments to the RTI Act are not only unacceptable, what's worse is the steam-rolling of differing opinion. The Opposition put up a brave fight but ultimately in a majoritarian government, BJP's voice ruled supreme. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi indeed intended to carry all voices along with him, then refusing to heed the Opposition's views is nothing short of autocracy thinly veiled as democracy.

For the uninitiated, why I and some others are going hammer and tongs regarding amendments made to the Right to Information (RTI) Act is because the amendments are not as innocuous as they seem; they have far-reaching consequences on our future. The RTI Amendment Bill that has been passed this week allows the government to control the tenure, emoluments, and other terms of services of Information Commissioners at the Centre as well as the states.

If the UPA did a few things wrong, passing the RTI Act in 2005 was one of their most laudable acts. Modi 2.0 has simply overturned the accountability that was awarded to ordinary citizens. And it did not do so smoothly. The opposition to the amendments came from political parties, activists such as Anna Hazare, and even former information officers. But the government muscled its way through both the Houses, insulting Opposition parties and reducing their strong reservations to the amendments to mere chatter.

So, you ask, how worrying can fixing salaries and tenures of information officers really be? Alarming, to be honest. The Centre's grip takes away the transparency and independence of the Central Information Commission (CIC). The Central Information Commissioners step in to adjudicate pleas when citizens are denied information from government offices, and it is their job to ensure fair implementation of the RTI Act. Former information commissioners have likened the Commission to another constitutional body, the Election Commission. If the government of the day has a say on tenure and salaries, it can use this power to coerce, threaten or influence the commissioners. The amendment will allow the government to hire and fire at will, and fill up the current four vacancies in the CIC (there are 6 positions in total) with yes-men.

Now, why has a government that has been formed with a popular majority taken such a democracy-threatening decision? The government states that it is merely correcting an "anomaly". But truth be told, the government has been put in the dock by recent RTI pleas. News reports suggest that the controversy over the PM's degree and the Supreme Court forcing RBI to declare the status of non-performing assets (NPAs) in public sector banks (PSBs), left Modi 1.0 red-faced. The idea now is to prevent recurrence of such RTI pleas that portray the government or its luminaries in a negative light. So, what's next? State-controlled media only?

To further add to the ignominy of the democratic process, Modi 2.0 passed the amendments speedily without proper Parliamentary debates. When the original bill was tabled 15 years ago, it was followed by detailed arguments presented by all quarters. As always, now all eyes are on the Supreme Court to play saviour and uphold the independence of the CIC.

But the hurry to decimate democratic processes meant to empower ordinary citizens is a cause for concern. Consider this—if the government refuses to follow the correct protocol and respect the general opinion of the House and the people, will it then stop with the RTI Bill alone? As the majoritarian party, BJP obviously has the numbers and the will needed to get its way when numbers don't fully add up. But with the thundering mandate awarded to it only couple of months ago, one would have expected more graciousness from the powers that be. After all, isn't it said that 'with great power comes great responsibility'?

(The writer is an author and media entrepreneur. The views expressed are strictly personal)