Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Nov 19: Accusing the Coalition Government for rendering the SIC completely defunct, a strong contingent of Panthers Party activists spearheaded by Harsh Dev Singh, chairman NPP and Yash Paul Kundal, State president Young Panthers staged a massive protest demonstration against the subversion of RTI Act in the State at Exhibition Ground here today.
Lambasting the State Government’s nonchalant attitude towards the SIC having led to its redundancy, Mr Singh recalled that the Ministers and MLAs particularly those of BJP were in notion that while the transparency was good for others, they should be left free and unquestioned. He said that the BJP’s resistance to RTI Act came to fore when one of the BJP MLAs moved a bill in the previous session of Assembly for the amendment of J&K RTI Act and alleged misuse of the Act by the so called “unscrupulous elements”.
He maintained that the BJP-PDP Government was deliberately sabotaging the RTI Act in the State to end the regime of accountability and transparency. Mr Singh regretted that with the lone Information Commissioner completing his term on November 17, following the retirement of two members including the CIC, the State Information Commission had completely become defunct.
Expressing skepticism over the reconstitution of the SIC, NPP leader said that with no signs of immediate setting up of this vital commission, the State Government had only made a contemptuous mockery of the RTI mechanism despite repeated calls from the civil Society, RTI activists and other quarters to appoint the CIC and the Information Commissioners in the State. He disclosed that the incumbent CIC before his retirement had written to the State Government to appoint the new CIC and the Information Commissioners well in advance but all his efforts were in vain. Moreover, it had been reported that due to the State Government’s apathy the GAD had not even prepared the panel of the probables for these posts which only exposed the bitter truth that the Coalition Government was hell bent to kill the transparency law for its own vested interests.
While demanding immediate selection of CIC and ICs to reconstitute the Commission, Mr Singh sought an explanation from the State Govt. and BJP in particular on the sabotage of RTI Act.
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