NEW DELHI, Jan 30: A day after the Economic Survey called for re-examining the RTI law, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday asked whether it was RTI’s turn to get murdered after MGNREGA’s “killing”.
In a post on X, Kharge accused the Union government of systematically weakening the RTI Act and unleashing a climate of terror that punishes truth-seekers as he pointed out that over 100 RTI activists had been murdered since 2014.
“The Economic Survey has called for ‘re-examination’ of the Right to Information Act. It also suggests a possible ‘Ministerial veto’ to withhold information and wants to explore the possibility of shielding public service records, transfers and staff reports of bureaucrats from public scrutiny.
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“The Modi Government has systematically weakened the RTI Act — Over 26,000 pending cases as of 2025. In 2019, the Modi Government hacked away at the RTI Act, seizing control over Information Commissioners’ tenure and pay, converting independent watchdogs into submissive functionaries,” Kharge said in his post.
He said the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 gutted the RTI’s public interest clause, “weaponising privacy to shield corruption and stonewall scrutiny.”
Until last month (December 2025), the Central Information Commission had been functioning without a chief information commissioner. It was the seventh time in 11 years that this key post was deliberately kept vacant, the Congress chief claimed.
“Since 2014, over 100 RTI activists have been murdered, unleashing a climate of terror that punishes truth-seekers and extinguishes dissent. The Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 passed by the Congress-UPA has not been implemented by the BJP, till date.
“After killing MGNREGA, is it RTI’s turn to get murdered?” Kharge asked.
The Economic Survey on Thursday made its 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 also said that the RTI (Right to Information) Act 2005 was never intended as a tool for idle curiosity, nor as a mechanism to micro-manage the government from the outside.
The law seeks to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, to contain corruption, and to enhance people’s participation in the democratic process.
“Nearly two decades on, the RTI Act may need re-examination, not to dilute its spirit, but to align it with global best practices, incorporate evolving lessons, and keep it firmly anchored to its original intent,” the Survey said. (PTI)
