Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Oct. 16 said the right to information process should follow a “3-T” mantra of being timely, transparent and trouble-free.
Speaking at the 10th annual Convention of Central Information Commission, Modi supported providing more information “proactively.” Modi said democracy will be strengthened the faster “we move towards transparency,” the stronger will be the faith of people in democracy. He said the 2005 RTI Act gave citizens the right to question those in power, according to media reports, including an article in The Shillong Times.
“The process of accessing information should be transparent, timely and trouble-free,” he said, continuing: “Delayed information does not help to solve the problem but increases it. Timely information can halt a wrong decision. We will emphasize this.”
“If a question is asked by a citizen there must be some issue in government that the need for question arose,” Modi stated. “A small RTI question can force you to change policy,” he said.
Modi said: “Secrecy could have been the norm during some old times but I don’t think there is need of such secrecy now. Transparency brings in simplicity and speed in the working of the government.”
A group of activists boycotted the meeting, saying that too few were invited and that some were disinvited as authorities cited security reasons. See reporting on this in The Indian Express.
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