Days after the government notified new RTI rules reducing the tenure of central and state information commissioners from five to three years and lowering their ranks, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Thursday termed the changes as the BJP government’s “final assault to decimate RTI”. Sonia said the changes will “diminish” the office of the Information Commissioner, leaving it “at the mercy of the very government it is required to hold accountable”. The Congress chief said the Modi government has always viewed RTI as an “obstacle to enforcing their majoritarian agenda without being held accountable to people”. Explained | Why does Sonia Gandhi accuse govt of destroying RTI Act “The BJP government has now launched its final assault to decimate RTI. To further erode and dilute its effectiveness, the Modi government has passed amendments which diminish the office of the Information Commissioner.” she said in a statement. Read | Skewed vision of India’s history being imposed: Sonia Gandhi Sonia said the term of the Information Commissioners was fixed for five years under the 2005 law to ensure there was no executive interference. “Any official who allows the release of information against the government can now be swiftly removed or simply not continued in office. This will have a chilling effect on all Information Commissioners. By reducing the benefits for these important posts, the government has ensured no senior self-respecting official would agree to work under such monitored circumstances,” she said.
