Put draft rules of RTI amendment Act in public domain for discussion: PM told

By A Representative
A civil rights network, the National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information (NCPRI), in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has sought his immediate intervention on the Centre’s "failure" to prescribe rules regarding the salary, tenure and terms of service of information commissioners, after the enactment of the Right to Information Amendment Act, 2019.
It regrets, while the draft rules have been prepared by the Government of India's Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), "these are not available in the public domain."
These rules should be "in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy of 2014, which requires all draft rules to be placed in the public domain for comments/suggestions of people", the letter -- signed among others by senior RTI activists Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey, Venkatesh Nayak, Pankti Jog, Pradip Pradhan, Rakesh Dubbudu and Dr Shaikh Ghulam Rasool -- urges.
The letter recalls that the amendments to the RTI law were made "despite public protests across the country", pointing out, "There were no public consultations on the amendments and the bill was not referred to any parliamentary deliberative committee." As a result, it adds, "The RTI amendment Act seriously weakened the law by undermining the autonomy of information commissions."
It complains, "It has been nearly three months since the amendments received the President’s assent. However, till date, the central government has not prescribed requisite rules. As a result, vacancies in information commissions persist, leading to huge backlogs and concomitant long delays in the disposal of appeals and complaints of people. This is hindering the effective functioning of the RTI Act."

A fearless spirit lost: Rebecca Thomson dies at 17-hour Catalina Swim Mark

By Harsh Thakor On July 26, 2020, Rebecca “Becky” Thomson suffered cardiac arrest while attempting the Catalina Channel Swim — a marathon open water crossing from Catalina Island to the California mainland. After swimming for 17 hours, Thomson collapsed in the water. Despite the painstaking efforts of emergency responders and the medical staff at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, she succumbed to a devastating hypoxic brain injury and died Friday evening.

An open letter to PM: Before you forgive, ask for forgiveness

By Martin Macwan* Respected Prime Minister, The first step toward true forgiveness is asking for it, and it is out of respect for the Constitution that the title "Honourable" is used for the office of the Prime Minister. Every abuse is "dirty" because almost all abuse is uttered with the conscious intention of publicly humiliating a woman, much like the disrobing of Draupadi in the royal court. This includes remarks like "Jersey Cow," used at public meetings on the Gujarati land of Gandhi and Sardar; comparing a female MP's laughter in India's Parliament to "Surpanakha's laugh"; and using a vulgar address like "Didi O Didi" for a Chief Minister who holds a respected position in a democracy—along with every other such remark. In the 79-year history of independent India, you are better placed than anyone to say which Prime Minister has used such language against women.

Bihar’s land at ₹1 per acre for Adani sparks outrage, NAPM calls it crony capitalism

By A Representative The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the Bihar government’s decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur district, to Adani Power for a 2,400 MW coal-based thermal power project.

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