CPI MP writes to PM, opposes Economic Survey calling for re-examination of RTI

CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing strong opposition to the latest Economic Survey that called for a re-examination of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The Economic Survey on Thursday made a strong case for re-examining the nearly two-decade-old RTI law to exempt confidential reports and draft comments from disclosures, saying such provisions constrain governance. It said that the RTI Act 2005 was never intended as a tool for idle curiosity, nor as a mechanism to micro-manage the government from the outside. In a letter addressed to Modi, Kumar said, ''The suggestion that the RTI Act requires 're-examination' to protect internal deliberations risks legitimising corruption and shielding wrongdoing under the guise of administrative efficiency.'' He said the RTI Act, enacted by the UPA-I government with decisive support from the Left, marked a historic advance in institutionalising transparency and democratic accountability. ''It was a conscious political choice to empower citizens, curb corruption, and subject the State to public scrutiny. Any attempt to dilute its spirit strikes at the core of constitutional governance,'' Kumar said. He said the position articulated in the Economic Survey implicitly portrays transparency as an impediment to governance. ''Democratic governance does not suffer from openness; it suffers from secrecy, arbitrariness, and unaccountable power,'' he said. Kumar alleged that the RTI framework had already been systematically weakened over the past decade, and procedural changes to RTI rules made information harder to access. ''At the same time, journalists, RTI activists, and whistleblowers continue to face intimidation and threats, with inadequate legal protection for those exposing corruption and irregularities,'' he said. The MP termed the Economic Survey's approach not merely academic but politically consequential. ''Any further dilution of the RTI Act would be disastrous for democratic accountability and public trust,'' he said, and urged the prime minister to reconsider this position.