Modi Govt trying to alter RTI: Cong

NEW DELHI: The Congress today alleged that the Modi Government was trying to tweak RTI rules and asked whether the move was intended to intimidate people.

“By trying to alter the RTI rules what is the intention of the government? Right to Inform citizens or Right to Intimidate them ?,” senior Congress leader Amhed Patel said on Twitter.

There are reports that the Government intends to bring changes in the Right to Information (RTI) norms, by bringing in a word limit for applications and higher charges, thus making it expensive to seek information.

The proposal has already worried RTI activists who allege that it is an attempt to dilute the Act.

Enacted in 2005, the RTI law empowers citizens to seek information and question government on key decisions, while bringing in transparency. Around 1 crore applications have been filed with the Central government in 2015-16 alone.

The previous Congress-led UPA Government had also tried to bring changes to the information law but dropped the idea after stiff resistance. (AGENCIES)