Magsaysay winner condemns arrest of RTI activists

Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey has written a letter to President A P J Abdul Kalam, condemning the arrest of social activists protesting against the non-functioning of the Central Information Commission (CIC).

The arrested protesters held the silent protest while the President was addressing a gathering at Vigyan Bhawan on the occasion the first anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act on Friday.

They were arrested as they were coming out of Vigyan Bhawan.

Demanding Kalam's intervension in the matter, Pandey described the police action as a "blot" on the RTI convention.

"We condemn the highhanded manner of not only the police but also the way National RTI Convention is being held in Delhi," he said.

"We are being penalized for our action based on Freedom of Speech which we performed in the least disruptive manner without any slogan shouting or attempt to disrupt the programme," he said.

"If the CIC and the Government will act in such a highhanded manner, we will continue our protest," Pandey added..

Various NGOs and RTI activists have accused the CIC of being slow and not realising its true potential. The CIC, however has rubbished the veracity of these charges.

"To me it was a big surprise. I wondered who these people were and what their concerns were. They have never met the Commission or indicated their grievances. If they had come to us, we would have listened to them," said Information Commisioner, M M Ansari.

In his speech, Kalam President said the use of Right to Information should be done in a balanced manner.

He called on the CIC to run extensive publicity campaigns to inform citizens about about the entire process.

The Commission could also find out how many applications various ministries and affiliated departments receive and how these applications or requests are processed. (ANI)

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