RTI CASES GO NOWHERE

SANJOG MAHESHWRI

R.T.I. cases go nowhere

- SANJOG MAHESHWARI

That which is good enough for us is that which is not too bad. It is good enough for us that not so long ago, the Congress-led U.P.A. Government enacted and enshrined a theoretically good law called Right to Information Act 2005 in the statute book. Quite expectedly, the people lapped it up in the fond belief that now they are empowered to conduct social audit and make some contribution towards ushering in a corruption-free society and smashing India’s image as one of the five most corrupt countries of the world. People began asking questions under the RTI Act., not always comfortable to those in the authority. And that marked the beginning of the end of the short term euphoria of the people. The bureaucracy took it as an affront to their thus far unquestioned supremacy and authority. They are there by their own right to ask questions; not to give answers and offer explanations. When were they taught answering questions and queries?

The foot-dragging officialdom, already past-master in the art of dodging devised umpteen ways to evade giving correct and complete reply to the uncomfortable queries with total impunity. The initial fear, if at all was there, soon evaporated and vanished in thin air when they learnt that there had been no such political will to root out corruption through the RTI Act, in the first place. It was the political compulsion of the ruling Congress-led U.P.A. Government that gave birth to the Act. After-all, how could they tolerate their predecessor, the BJP-led NDA government legislating for the first time ever in free India a people-friendly and empowering law like Freedom of Information Act 2002 and get away with all the credit for it? That credit must necessarily be jacked and snatched from them. They decided to make some changes in the law to make it look more progressive, participatory and meaningful for the appearance sake only and to repeal the Freedom of Information Act-2002 and to enact another law under the title RTI Act-2005. So, the Act born out of the political-compulsions-as against political-will of the UPA government- is heavily laced with political overtones.

When the genesis of the new law became clear to the bureaucracy, they started cultivating their own bright ideas to subvert and circumvent its people-empowering provisions in so many ingenious ways, which were very easy for them to devise, but left quite a few information-seekers baffling and fuming at their complete and total helplessness in securing the information and documents even after spending a fortune for them and toiling hard for years on end in pursuit of the justice. Though most of the people have long seen through the game but they have been and still are totally helpless to do anything about it particularly because the clever bureaucracy has made it a point to provide any or every information or document, if asked for by some political heavyweight, N.G.O. or an otherwise bigwig.

However, nothing prevents the ruling class still to show-case it as one of its so-called “achievements” in the run-up of general elections.

While the Right to Information Act-2005 was thus brought on the Statute Book, professedly, for effectuating the right to information recognized under Article 19 of the Constitution of India and came into force with effect from 12^th October, 2005, the ground realties have an altogether different story to tell.

Pensioner Mr. R filed application seeking certified copies of his Service Book & Leave Account, P.P.O and some information regarding his leave encashment details retiral dues and arrears. About two years roll by NOT a scrap of relevant material, document and information has been made available to him by the Public Information Officer of the Public authority of a Central Government autonomous body- the custodian of the requested records and information.. The Central Information Commissioner in his order on the 2^nd Appeal of the information seeker advises the applicant to help locate the records and information, and (closes the appeal?) at the Commission’s end. The Public authority cleverly attempts to evade the responsibility by misinterpreting these orders to mean that the applicant information seeker must provide them copies of certain hypothetical documents of unspecified description which, he neither has nor is supposed to have for the simple reason that the custodian of all manner of such records and documents is also the same Public authority from which the information and the requested documents are being sought and not the information seeker himself. While there is no provision of any such quid pro quos in the Act, which simply mandates to provide all the requested information and documents, not otherwise specifically barred, on payment of the prescribed fees and charges, the authorities that be arrogate to themselves all powers to bully and harass the information seeker and deny him the sought information and documents with impunity in spite of the Law. Even after more than a year his application for special leave to review the order filed with the Chief Information Commissioner has not drawn any response from the Commission and there is no light for the information seeker at the end of the tunnel. The same is the case with his medical reimbursement bills amounting to about Rs.5000/-. While the two bills were sent under the Speed Post from two different Post Offices on two different dates within a period of one month and the Public Authority is feigning complete ignorance about them despite of providing all proves obtained from the Postal authorities confirming their delivery to the office of the public authority. The C.I.C with whom the Complaint u/s 18 of the Act was lodged in the case, has been looking the other way. As for the former case, the crowning irony is: Instead of providing the requested records and information as mandated under the Act, the custodian of the records and the information i.e. the concerned public authority it-self is asking for -not even vaguely specified- documents and information from the information seeker himself. For the reasons better known to him only, the Central Information commissioner finds nothing wrong in it, considers such a move “reasonable” and, in the ultimate show of justice-delivery, absolves the custodian from his bounden duty and responsibility of providing the requested documents and information and, slams, for good, the doors of justice for the poor information seeker. Poorer by a few hundred rupees and more frustrated than ever before he is back to square one, licking his wounds while an already hugely hostile and immensely infuriated mighty public authority gets still more hostile against the information seeker who is then punished for the sin of requesting for information and documents so very vital and important for him. He does not have deep pockets to follow it up in the courts of law.

Ours is the most difficult country for getting justice even if one has been wronged. Whether it is so because of or in spite of all those empowering Laws; only God knows. If you feel that you have been rubbed on the wrong side by an executive action, your best bet is to suffer in silence and never ever invite still more trouble by agitating the appropriate Law.

R’s is not an isolated case. Quite a few have walked along his path and suffered the similar fate. In fact, barring those filed by the N.G.Os, powerful and influential persons, politicians, activists and organizations, almost every other filed by some Nobody is condemned to a similar fate and has a similar sordid story to narrate.

Once the activist late H.D.Shourie of Common Cause invited victims who suffered injustice at the hands of consumer courts to narrate their stories to him and was astounded to find that there were so many who lost only because they could not observe a few trivial formalities and technicalities. Is there any other Sourie around to compile such a list of ill-fated information-seekers who strove hard to get justice from the Information Commissions only to be greeted by disappointment after a frustrating experience of treading a labyrinthine course in quest for justice under the much touted “ Right to Information Act- 2005? For Mr. Nobody invariably there is darkness at the end of the tunnel. And that will remain like that till the Act is thoroughly revamped and the officialdom sheds its colonial days mind-set and recognizes our system of governance as “democracy.”

Are the activists and those in the authority also listening?

-SANJOG MAHESHWARI

'WHO THE NEXT P.M.?'

SANJOG MAHESHWARI

- WHO THE NEXT P.M.?-

-SANJOG MAHESHWARI

The general elections are on us. While as of now, BJP is having a clear edge over the Congress Party- its nearest or rather only -rival in the electoral race, the party will be well advised not to let its guards down as the latter has unfailingly demonstrated its uncanny ability to turn the table on the former in such matters at the eleventh hour- the BJP’s Delhi Assembly election debacle is still fresh in the public memory.

In the run-up of the general elections, the events unfolding also do not portend well for the Party. The President rubbished the Chief Election Commissioner’s recommendations for the removal of Mr. Navin Chawla. Come 20^th April, with the change of guards at Nirvaachan Bhawan, he gets elevated to the post of the Chief Election Commissioner, with the incumbent Chief retiring on the day. And whether the BJP likes it or not CBI, is not as independent an agency, as it is projected. There are other well-known factors also- do not require specific mention- that inhibit the party’s chances to the winning post. Add to them the Congress’s proven capability to spike the guns and you get the picture.

There are, however, many important firsts to the credit of the B.J.P. leadership. It is the first time ever that any leader of eminence has so emphatically made known his commitment to bring back trillions of black money parked by Indians in the foreign banks. The first time that some concern has been shown about rampant corruption, illegal immigration particularly of Bengladeshis and, combating terrorism in a determined and not half-hearted manner. And the first time ever that a prime-ministerial candidate proposed an American model debate on T.V. among the aspirants to the highest post thereby ushering in a very healthy and relevant tradition for all times to come. In fact, there should be series of debates to enable people to judge: “Who is the best?” Talking about development is easy. Root out the corruption and the development will follow automatically, as the day follows the night, without the government doing anything about it. Given the corruption-free environment, we, the people of India, are capable of bringing it about even without any assistance from the Government. Our contribution in this regard has been recognized and rewarded in the alien countries like the U.S of America. There is no reason why we cannot enact the feat here in our country provided, of course, the government ensures a zero-corruption environment. What, however, baffles one and all: Why the B.J.P. is not demonstrating the same zeal and determination to combat the mother of the most, if not all, of our most besetting problems: ‘the burgeoning population’ in the way China has done it? In fact, no political party has ever taken a very serious view of it, much as it deserves, ever since independence with the result that to our great horror and dismay, each year a Australia gets added to our population. Further, while the ever widening, yawning gap, gets wider by the day, between ‘the haves’ and ‘the have-nots’ no serious plan is on the agenda of any party to change the scenario and bring about an equitable distribution of wealth. However, for the obvious reasons, the B.J.P is seen as the only political party willing to and capable of tackling the horrific problem of terrorism- both home-grown and imported – effectively thereby ensuring maximum possible security to the people. Ditto to the other two maladies mentioned above.

Writing in his ‘Malice’ Column in the Hindustan Times, the veteran journalist Khushwant Singh broached the tricky subject: “Who the Next P.M.?” (Malice Column H.T. 28^th March). In his inimitable style, while saying otherwise, he has been more revealing in concealing the fact that the B.J.P is nearer to the winning post. He, however, attempts to drive home, rather convincingly, the home truth when he says, “A factor which may have a decisive impact on the relative electoral fortunes of the Congress party and the BJP will be the publication of the long-delayed Liberhan Commission Report…………” “.It will be like a time bomb: its explosion on the eve of the elections may swing the fortunes……….” Here Mr. Singh can hardly be blamed for being “off-the-mark.”

No doubt, the BJP presently is having a fairly good edge over the Congress party in this do or die battle of ballots -all reports suggesting to the contrary incessantly aired by the obviously biased electronic media and routinely flashed across the headlines in all the major National dailies; not withstanding. The electronic media in particular and the print media in general, barring a few exceptions, seem sold-out and as such their reports should be taken with loads of salt. However, the Congress leadership, that is past master in the art of springing surprises at the appropriate time and place, may get the balance tilted in its favour, slamming the chances of quite a few BJP hopefuls at the eleventh hour. And these surprises could be either in the form of a damning Liberhan Commission Report and/ or some other damaging revelation(s), not necessarily true, though otherwise, sufficiently packed with powerful punches. The Congress party could be keeping its “Brahmastras” for the right moment- the time bombs cleverly timed to explode on the eve of elections to the great chagrin and consternation of, till then, an upbeat BJP leadership. Thus, the possibility of the BJP winning quite a few battles yet losing the war can not entirely be ruled out and the party should, in its own interests, has to be very cautious till the final step at the winning post. The caution does not cost but saves from unpleasant surprises.

While on the subject a look at the big picture would be in order. In case, contrary to all expectations, the Congress party wins, it may not be the end of all the surprises and suspense. The proclaimed P.M choice of the party, Dr. Man Mohan Singh may not run or allowed to run his full term. Sooner than expected, he could be replaced by the crown prince Rahul Gandhi; when in a surprise move, the Doctor, not quite unexpectedly, may quit on health grounds, paving way for the waiting-in-the-wings, hopeful to ascend the thrown. Of course, the sacrifice is not likely to go unrewarded. A high-profile lucrative foreign assignment for his loyalty to the family could be waiting for him up for grabs.

In this context it would be pertinent to mention that right from the day one it was abundantly clear that this system of democratic governance is totally incapable of delivering good and clean governance. The things, however, have been getting bad to worse by the day for the common man who has now lost all faith in the system. On an earlier occasion also, Mr. Singh in his column, alluded to the similar opinion expressed by some serious political thinkers, including the past leaders and M.Ps , in an interview session claimed to have conducted by him in which they advocated replacing of this debased Westminster type of Parliamentary democracy by the American model of Presidential system. The sooner it is done, the better it would be for the health and well being of Indian democracy and the common citizenry. How can several century old system of democratic governance, that is just about okay for a small island country like England, work without yielding negative results and disastrous consequences for the common citizenry in a country like India, which is more than ten times both in size and population of England and having a completely different social order and set-up, polity and a plural societal structure? So far as our country is concerned, in the backdrop of vastly changed circumstances and times, this system can possibly be used only for the constitution of Gram Panchaayats or Gram Sabhas but certainly not for constituting institutions like Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies. Since the proposed big change runs counter to the deeply entrenched self-interests of every politician, they shiver at the very thought of it; let alone getting it replaced by the American model. The intelligentsia and the common citizenry must, therefore, suffer in silence.

The common men who have already suffered too much and for too long, are a totally disillusioned lot now. Should Pappu then be blamed, if he demonstrates his anger, anguish, resentment and revolt against the system and shows his total disapproval of it by the only way he perhaps knows and can: not casting his vote at all? (Still there is no provision for a NEGATIVE VOTE “None of the above” button in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). His grouse is not against any particular politician or political party but the system itself, the inbuilt mechanism of which, has successively denied him the clean and efficient government so far and so long, thereby making his life more and more miserable by the day. This system ensures that the best man does not run. The question of his winning does not arise at all.

All our politicians are not corrupt and inefficient but the system makes them so. Contrast it by the American model where without a single exception, every successive President incessantly strove hard and fast, to the best of his ability, to promote and safeguard the interests of America and Americans, caring two hoots for what the rest of the world thought about him; bowed out of the office and vacated the White House for his successor to occupy on the fixed date, after remaining in the office and in the White House for his fixed term of four years only, unless otherwise elected for just another fixed term of equal duration at the end of which he must go for good; howsoever brilliant, efficient and capable he may be.

The former President George Bush, the then incumbent of the highest and the mightiest office in the world, is helpless before the American law and looks the other way while his daughter cools her heels behind the prison bars for the offense of drunken-driving. That is the rule of democracy in the real sense of the word; ours can at best be called ‘ Mobocracy’ or ‘Mobocrazy’, if I am permitted to coin the latter term to define what exactly the political climate of our country is.

-SANJOG MAHESHWARI