"Revolutionary legislation": Congress' Jairam Ramesh on 20 years of RTI Act

New Delhi [India], October 12 (ANI): On the 20th anniversary of the Right to Information Act, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday described it as a "revolutionary" legislation passed under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.
The Congress MP was addressing a press conference in the national capital, where he stated that the UPA government brought several other revolutionary legislations apart from the RTI bill during the 2004 and 2014 periods.
"20 years ago from today, the historic and revolutionary Right to Information Act was passed in 2005; today, it's the 20th anniversary of the RTI bill. This, in my opinion, was a revolutionary legislation, and in the next decade, under the leadership of the Congress-led UPA government," he said.
He stated that the Congress regime passed other laws, such as the Rural Employment Act, MGNREGA, Right to Education, Food Security Act, and the Land Acquisition Act, in 2013. Ramesh mentioned that the Right to Information Act ushered in a transformative decade.

"Six more such transformative laws were implemented, not only this, but we also brought the Rural Employment Act, popularly known as MNREGA, and the Right to Education Act 2009. Thereafter, the Food Security Act of 2013 and, a few days later, the new Land Acquisition Act of 2013 were implemented. The Right to Information Act had ushered in a transformative decade," he said.
The Congress leader also criticised the Personal Data Protection Act and mentioned that it will override the RTI Act, which empowers the common people.
"Personal Data Protection Act 2023 will corner the RTI Act that empowers common people... RTI Act empowers common people to access all the information that an MP or an MLA has," he added.
The Right to Information Act was passed on October 12, 2005, which grants the right to request information from public authorities to promote transparency and accountability. It mandates that government bodies respond within 30 days and requires them to publish certain information proactively. (ANI)