The family members of slain RTI activist Satish Shetty say the statements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 10 anniversary of the RTI Act were “political” in nature. Modi had asked government departments to keep in mind three ‘T’s, timeliness, transparency and trouble-free approach, while replying to RTI applications to help reduce errors in governance. [related-post] Sandeep Shetty, brother of Satish Shetty who was murdered in Talegaon Dabhade in Pune on January 13, 2010, said, “It has been over five years and the investigators have not even identified the masterminds. There have been major lapses in the investigation. So it is clear that the state itself is not serious about investigation.” Sandeep said that about a month-and-a-half ago, he sent all details of the case to “pgportal.gov.in”, a public grievances redressal portal launched by PM Modi. He said he got a reply saying “Your grievance has been registered vide registration number PMOPG Please quote the same in your future correspondence.” “There is no progress further,” Sandeep said. “So I feel what PM Modi said is more of a political speech. I have not heard the PM making any mention about the attacks on RTI activists. The state has failed to protect RTI activists. Even after 10 years of the RTI, a massive change in approach of the government administrative officers is needed,” said Sandeep. He pointed out that a special team of CBI probing the Satish Shetty murder case had demanded infrastructure and manpower from the state, but the state government was delaying its response.
