http://indiaenews.com/2006-08/18191-parties-amendment-rti-act-brinda.htm

Making the Left parties stand clear on the Right to Information Act (RTI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat Friday said they will not allow any amendment to the legislation.

'We wont allow any amendment to RTI as proposed by the cabinet. Exclusion of file notings from the ambit of the legislation will simply curtail the power in the hand of people,' Karat said. She was speaking at a public hearing of RTI grievances event organised by Satark Nagarik Sangathan in south Delhi. 'We have told the government very emphatically that their decision to bring in changes and pass it in parliament is simply not acceptable to us. The act should remain as it is now.

File notings are expressions of opinion by officers handling projects. These play a key role in deciding the future of a project or policy.

Satark Nagarik Sangathan chief Anjali Bhardwaj said the government bid to bring in the amended version was aimed at 'hiding many misdeeds by the bureaucracy'. She said all RTI activists in India were fighting jointly against the government plan. Magsaysay award winner Sandip Pandey is on hunger strike in the heart of the capital. Veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare is protesting in Mumbai.

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