NCPRI seeks mechanism to protect RTI users

Condemning the attack on RTI activist Akhil Gogoi, the National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information (NCPRI) on Monday asked the Assam government to immediately disclose the Central government’s report on tackling floods in the state.

Condemning the attack on RTI activist Akhil Gogoi, the National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information (NCPRI) on Monday asked the Assam government to immediately disclose the Central government’s report on tackling floods in the state.

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Gagoi, who is also general secretary of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), was assaulted while he was surveying the flood situation in Punni village, Dharmapur area of Assam and is currently in a critical condition, admitted in the Nalbari Civil Hospital.

The NCPRI demands that the Assam State Information Commission immediately declare suo motu on their website all the information that Gogoi had asked for, particularly the recommendations of the 2004 Task Force report, the campaign said in a statement.

They also asked the Assam government to act swiftly to identify Gogoi’s attackers and bring them to justice. "The motive of his attackers to silence his voice must not be allowed to succeed," the statement said.

The NCPRI also expressed its anger at series of attacks on RTI users across the country who have all been trying to use the transparency law as a tool to improve the democratic functioning of institutions.

“In this context, it is important to make a demand for a strong and effective Whistleblower Bill (Public Interest Disclosure and Protection for Persons Making the Disclosure Bill, 2010),” the statement said.