RTI DECEASED: THE STATE OF DEMOCRATIC  UNFREEDOM

Posted on 26/05/2023 (GMT 08:00 hrs)

Updated on 25/02/2024 (GMT 19:18 hrs)

RTI is dead! RIP RTI! Alas! RTI has breathed its last…

The RTI Act (2005) was introduced in India to ensure democratic accountability and dialogue between the so-called “governing class” and the so-called “governed”. However, given the rise of democratic un-freedom in the past couple of decades (as pointed out by various international forums and media-houses such as Freedom House, V-Dem Institute, Amnesty International etc.), the RTI as a democratic tool has ceased to operate as a link between the public domain and the ruling class’ shadowy realm.

The RTI Activists have constantly engaged in ensuring transparency in every sphere and layer of the administrative/bureaucratic hierarchy by posing pertinent questions to the concerned authorities by means of this RTI tool. Even so, the opacity of governmentality has forever overshadowed this channel of smooth, direct, unhindered communication, e.g., no RTI queries can be made with regard to the Electoral Bonds and the PM CARES Fund, for they do not fall under the purview of the RTI itself! Moreover, political parties’ “unknown” sources of astronomical donations can never be deciphered, since they are not to be considered as “public authorities”!

Likewise, the victims of financial abuse in the DHFL scam have suffered the same fate. They have filed multiple RTIs to the respective authorities with the hope of gaining clarity on the embedded inconsistencies and gaps in the DHFL CoC’s resolution process, the question of BJP’s involvement in the scam and the approved resolution plan of the Piramals. All the replies that came in response to these applications latently declared one and the same thing: WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU THIS. They deliberately denied access to information in terms of a voluntary evasion or omission of information from the Indian citizens. It is an end of dialogue, closing of the universe of discourse, end of debate and end of dissenting voices, i.e., an Orwellian dystopia where all the units of administration are controlled, manipulated and appropriated by the ruling party to further its own ends. There is no place for putting forth “questions” since one has to unquestionably, uncritically (in a docile, passive manner) accept the ruling party’s dictates and whims.

India’s Government Wants Total Control of the Internet VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 13th February, 2023 ©Wired UK)

Data or information in India is alleged to contain: data denial, data opacity and data paucity. Despite the existence of Indian Statistical Institute and National Sample Survey, why is India so opaque regarding its data or information? The answer is simple. India ranks 161 in the Press Freedom Index out of 180 countries.

Our public health system needs a dose of data transparency VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 1st January, 2022 ©The Times of India)

Excerpt: “In the absence of such data, we may escalate and intervene with fear even when we may not need to. Data paucity, data-opacity and data denial do not help the public or policymakers. Public trust in data is an essential feature of a democracy.”

Here are the RTI applications filed by some of the DHFL victims:

• AN RTI ON THE ALLEGED COLLUSION AMONG DAWOOD-MIRCHI-RKW-DHFL-BJP  VIEW HERE ⤡ (Feb 19, 2022)

An RTI that was filed to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (later transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI) to generate information regarding the nexus or collusion amidst Dawood Ibrahim, late Iqbal Mirchi, the BJP, DHFL and RKW Developers (Dheeraj Realty) in the context of the DHFL scam.

When the RTI activist cum DHFL victim got a vague and ambiguous reply, they forwarded an appeal to the BJP President and RSS Chief to file a defamation cases against those newspapers, who were spreading such “false” allegations against the richest party of the Indian Republic.

• REQUESTING FOR FILING A DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST THE ANTI-NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS REGARDING THE NEXUS BETWEEN THE UNDERWORLD AND THE BJP VIEW HERE ⤡  (August 29, 2022)

However no such action has been taken so far by the Honourable Sarsanghchalak of The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and The Honourable President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

• AN RTI ON “WHO OWNS DHFL NOW: PCHF OR PIRAMAL FINANCE?” VIEW HERE ⤡ (June 21, 2022)

This RTI was filed to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, GOI, to elicit information on the fact of Piramal’s adverse possession of the DHFL by claiming ownership of the latter by using dubious names simultaneously: Piramal CHFL and Piramal Finance, on the social and print media platforms.

• WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DECEPTIVE AUDITING OF THE DHFL? AN RTI TO THE CAG OF INDIA VIEW HERE ⤡ (June 29, 2022)

This RTI was filed to the CAG of India by drawing on the issue of the auditing of the DHFL’s account-books, since the previously Credit Rating Agencies provided an AAA rating to the company despite the fact that it allegedly committed “fraudulent transactions” (yet to be proved in the court of law). 

• AN RTI TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LEGAL AFFAIRS REGARDING THE DISPUTED OWNERSHIP STATUS OF THE DHFL VIEW HERE ⤡ (SEPT 20, 2022)

This RTI was made to the Department of Legal Affairs, GOI, to get information on the fact of the disputed ownership issue of the DHFL by Piramal while the company is still under adjudication or undergoing legal process.

An interesting point with regard to this particular RTI application is that the reply of the concerned authority stated that one cannot ask “wh” questions in one’s RTI application.

First of all, the RTI activist did not pose a “wh” question in the application.

Secondly, the exclusion of “wh” questions can only occur in an autocratic state, suppressing plurality of opinions.

• THE GREAT NON-WILFUL ABSENTEES IN THE RBI-APPOINTED CoC FOR DHFL VIEW HERE ⤡ (April 13, 2023)

This RTI was filed to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), asking about the exemption of participation of the ex-promoters, or otherwise, suspended directors of the DHFL, viz., the Wadhawan Brothers, in the RBI-appointed CoC for DHFL’s resolution process, given the fact that the Wadhawans approached the CoC with their full repayment proposal multiple times.

The answer was given by the concerned authority in a ridiculous manner by saying that the query of the RTI activist cum DHFL victim does not come under the ambit of the definition of “information” in the RTI Act. However, the definition of information in the RTI act includes electronic materials etc., hence our query does come under the denotative spectrum of the definition.

See Also:

An online petition entitled #SaveRTI was started by Mr. Shailesh Gandhi with an effort to restore the dignity of the RTI act:

#SaveRTI VIEW HERE ⤡

The end of Democratic India:

This is not the end of narrative. The ruling party is also banning the RTI-Activists for wrong reasons:

Gujarat: 10 People Banned From Filing RTI Queries; One of Them Fined Rs 5,000, a First in History VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 09/08/2022 ©The Wire)    

 Nine blacklisted for ‘harassing’ officials through RTI queries in Gujarat; NGO says ‘lifetime ban’ illegal VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 09/08/2022 ©The Hindu)       

NPR-NRC-CAA-DPB: THE ANATOMO-BIO-POLITICAL INTERVENTION WITHIN THE ARCHIPELAGO

Nine blacklisted for ‘harassing’ officials through RTI queries in Gujarat; NGO says ‘lifetime ban’ illegal VIEW HERE ⤡ (As reported on 9th August, 2022 ©The Hindu)