Sonia Gandhi, the Chairman of the All India Congress Committee (AICC,) on the 23rd of July, opposed the Right To Information (RTI) Amendment Bill 2019.
Ms. Gandhi said, “It is a matter of utmost concern that the Central Government is hell-bent on completely subverting the historic Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.” She further added, “This law, prepared after wide spread consultations and passed unanimously by parliament, now stands on (the) brink of extinction.”
The comments of Sonia Gandhi against the Central Government came after the Government of India, on the 22nd of July, passed the RTI Amendment Bill 2019, during the Parliament session.
The new RTI Amendment Bill allows the Central Government to decide the tenure, salary and allowances of Information Commissioners of the Centre and the States in India.
The Indian National Congress (INC) called the RTI Amendment Bill as the ‘RTI Elimination Bill,’ as it will affect the accountability of the administration on multiple levels.
The INC leaders argued over the Bill and said the new Bill will force even honest officials not to disclose anything sensitive because of the impact on their jobs and pay.
The GoI defended the Bill and said the new changes will enhance the existing RTI Act with the points which were missed by the previous INC Government.
The discussion over the Bill soon turned to a heated argument, as the BJP said the previous Government overlooked a few aspects.
In 2005, the INC introduced the RTI Bill under the rule of Manmohan Singh, the then Prime Minister of India.
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