National Campaign for People's Right to Information

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National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) was established in 1996 to advocate for a legal backing to citizens right to information. This resulted in the historic and pro-people law - the Right to Information Act, 2005. More recently, this movement has also campaigned for Grievance redressal bill and Whistleblowers protection bill. [1] [2] It is a network of organisations and individuals who use the Right to Information law to demand transparency and accountability of government, but also support the use of the RTI in various other sectors to demand accountability.

Contents

History

The campaign has its roots in the work and experiences of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. It was established in 1996 at a gathering of more than a hundred activist organisations. Later that year, it drafted the first version of a Right to Information Law in India, along with the Press Council of India. [3] The city of Beawar now has an official plaque that pays tribute to the Chang Gate protest which has a pivotal moment in the fight for the RTI. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Anti-Corruption Bills

The National Campaign for People's Right to Information demanded the Whistleblowers Protection Bill, 2011, be amended, including by a clearer definition of victimization, protection for persons other than the whistleblowers who provide relevant information, penalty for mala fide revelation of the identity of whistleblowers, a time limit for complaints and provision for filing anonymous complaints. [8]

The campaign has steadily fought for the passage of the Whistleblower Protection bill since September 2010. As a part of public action for the passage of the bill, families of whistleblowers gathered in Delhi to demand the immediate passage of the bill. [9] The Whistleblower Protection bill was passed on 21 February 2014. [10]

The other Bill that the NCPRI advocated for was a Grievance Redressal Bill.

Affiliate Organisations & Resources

There are several organizations and individuals that are part of the NCPRI eco-system.

  1. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
  2. Communist International (Marxist-Leninist)
  3. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
  4. Swadeshi Jagran Manch
  5. Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS India)

Important RTI's

  1. On Electoral Bonds: - SBI received Rs. 3.47 crore as commission, Dec 2020 - Rs. 1000 Electoral Bond unclaimed - Quantity of Bonds sold since 2018 - 2/3 donations to parties via bonds - More Party Funding, Ever More Opaque

Important Television Debates, Articles, Interviews, Books & Lectures

  1. 15 Years of RTI, Nikhil Dey in Frontline Magazine, December 2020 [11]
  2. Pustak Lokarpan Lecture by Aruna Roy, November 2020
  3. Bhaskar Prabhu on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
  4. Six Years On, Lokpal is a Non-Starter, The Hindu [12]
  5. Moneylife Foundation Annual RTI Lectures: "Is Good Governance the Right of a Citizen in Democracy?", Sept 2019
  6. 5 November 2001, Noam Chomsky on 'Militarism, Democracy and People's Right to Information' at the Delhi School of Economics
  7. Capturing Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India, 2021, by Himanshu Jha [13]

NCPRI Conventions, Public Meetings, Activities & Hearings

  1. Jan Manch on Electoral Bonds, RTI Amendments & Whistleblower Protection Bill, December 2019 [14]

Campaigns of NCPRI

Recent activities

The National Campaign for People's Right to Information met the Prime Minister on 19 August 2013 to submit a petition seeking deferring amendments related to the exclusion of the political parties from the ambit of the Right to Information Act. [16]

Dhananjay Dubey, brother of murdered whistleblower Satyendra Dubey, and the National Campaign for People's Right to Information started a petition signed by over 10,000 people demanding the immediate passage of the Whistleblower Protection and Grievance Redress bills. [17]

The NCPRI supports and endorses efforts towards accountability and transparency in various domains.[ citation needed ]

1. Official website of NCPRI

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right to Information Act, 2005</span> Act of the Government of India

The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India & Delhi Legislative Assembly which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to access information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2000.

Beawar is a city in Beawar district of Indian state of Rajasthan. As of 2011, the population of Beawar is 342,935. It is located 60 kilometres south from Ajmer, the divisional headquarter and 184 kilometres (114 mi) southwest of the state capital Jaipur, amidst Aravali hills. Nearest airports are Jodhpur (145 km), Kishangarh and Jaipur (190 km). It is also connected by RSRTC operated buses to all parts of Rajasthan, and neighboring Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Gwalior. It also has railway connectivity with Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmadabad, Bangalore (bi-weekly), Haridwar, Dehradun (weekly), Bareilly and Muzzafarpur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aruna Roy</span> Indian activist

Aruna Roy is an Indian social activist, professor, union organiser and former civil servant. She is the president of the National Federation of Indian Women and founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arvind Kejriwal</span> 7th Chief Minister of Delhi (2013–14 and 2015–2024)

Arvind Kejriwal is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He previously was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and was serving since 2015. He is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2012. He has represented the New Delhi constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly since 2015 and from 2013 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan</span> Indian political organisation

The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan is an Indian political organisation best known for its demand for the Right to Information Act (RTI) which grew out of the demand for minimum wages for workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prashant Bhushan</span> Indian activist, lawyer and politician

Prashant Bhushan is an Indian author and a public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. He was a member of the faction of the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement known as Team Anna which supported Anna Hazare's campaign for the implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill. After a split in IAC, he helped Team Anna form the Aam Aadmi Party. In 2015, he made several allegations against the party's leadership, its functioning and its deviation from the core ideology, values and commitments. He is one of the founders of Swaraj Abhiyan and Sambhaavnaa, an Institute of Public Policy and Politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lokpal</span> Ombudsman agency of India

A Lokpal is an anti-corruption authority or body of ombudsman who represents the public interest in the Republic of India. The current Chairperson of Lokpal is Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar. The Lokpal has jurisdiction over central government,anyone who is or has been Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of Parliament, as well as officials of the Union government under Groups A, B, C and D. Also covered are chairpersons, members, officers and directors of any board, corporation, society, trust or autonomous body either established by an Act of Parliament or wholly or partly funded by the Centre. It also covers any society or trust or body that receives foreign contributions above ₹10 lakh. to inquire into allegations of corruption against its public functionaries and for matters connected to corruption. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013 with amendments in parliament, following the Jan Lokpal movement led by Anna Hazare in 2010. The Lokpal is responsible for enquiring into corruption charges at the national level while the Lokayukta performs the same function at the state level. The age of Lokpal on the date of assuming office as the chairperson or a member should not be less than 45 years.

The Lokayukta is the Indian Parliamentary Ombudsman, executed into power, through and for, each of the State Governments of India. It is brought into effect in a state after passing the Lokayukta Act in the respective state legislature, and a person of reputable background is nominated for the post. The post was created to quickly address the working of the government or its administration. Once appointed, Lokayukta cannot be dismissed or transferred by the government, and can only be removed by passing an impeachment motion by the state assembly.

The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) is the commission appointed by the Government of India for giving recommendations for reviewing the public administration system of India. The first ARC was established on 5 January 1966. The Administrative Reforms Commission was initially chaired by Morarji Desai, and later on K. Hanumanthaiah became its chairman when Desai became the Deputy Prime Minister of India.

The first Social Audit was carried out in Sweden (1985–88) by John Fry and Ulla Ressner, worklife researchers at the Centre for Swedish Working Life (Arbetslivscentrum) and published in Sweden in 1988 by Allmäna Förlaget, Stockholm under the title "Social Revision av ett Ämbetsverk". It was the result of a three-year study of Sweden's central bureaucracy - The National Labour Market Board (Arbetsförmedlingen). The study was based on interviews and questionnaires with over 1,000 employees at all levels of the organisation throughout the country and became the subject of debate in the Swedish Riksdag (Parliament). Its focus was to assess the correspondence between the work experiences of employees and management on the one hand, and the legislated and collectively agreed upon objectives for service, work environmental and managerial policies in its established definition of effectivity in the workplace. In short, it was an assessment of the institutionalisation of a Democratic Rationality. As a result of that critical study and subsequent public conflict regarding the scope of professional academic freedom in Swedish state employ, the two researchers were pressured to resign their permanent research positions and paid by the Swedish state to immigrate to Canada.

Nikhil Dey is an Indian social activist. He works for the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Suchna Evum Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan and NCPRI. He has worked for Right to Information, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Lokpal bill and Right to Food and other Human Rights organisations.

India Against Corruption (IAC) is a non-political anti-corruption movement in India since 2007 which rose to prominence during the anti-corruption protests of 2011. Divisions among personalities on IAC's platform eventually led to the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Many Right to Information Act (RTI) activists, including policemen, have been harassed and even murdered for seeking information to "promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority" in India. Many face assaults on a regular basis. People seeking information from their gram panchayat and the local administration also face social ostracism. A few activists who sought information under RTI related to MNREGA scams, were killed. Many threats and attacks go unreported by the media.

The Citizen's Charter and Grievance Redressal Bill 2011 also known as The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 or Citizens Charter Bill was proposed by Indian central legislation. It was tabled by V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, in Lok Sabha in December 2011. The bill lapsed due to dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013</span> Act of the Parliament of India

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Anjali Bhardwaj is an Indian social activist working on issues of transparency and accountability. She is a co-convenor of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) and a founding member of Satark Nagrik Sangathan. She works on issues related to right to information, Lokpal, whistleblower protection, grievance redress, and right to food.

Freedom of information act 2002 was the precursor to Right to Information Act, 2005 of Parliament of India. The main weakness of this act was that it did not acknowledge the right to information of the people. Consequently, it provided for appeals only within the government bodies. It barred the jurisdiction of the courts and did not ensure any appeal with any independent body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024</span> Proposed law in India

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References

  1. ↑ "Grievance redressal Bill could be the next RTI". The Times of India . 10 March 2013. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Subrahmaniam, Vidya (12 October 2011). "NCPRI brainstorms Grievance Redress, Whistleblower Protection". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Baviskar, Amita (2010). John Gaventa and Rosemary McGee (ed.). Winning the right to information in India: Is knowledge power?. London: Zed Books.
  4. ↑ "RTI Diary". Outlook India Magazine. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Memorial on RTI struggle unveiled in Beawar". Hindustan Times. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Iqbal, Mohammed (28 May 2016). "RTI gets a memorial in Rajasthan". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  7. ↑ chatterjee, radhika. "Lifting the Veil of State Secrecy, One Application at a Time". The Citizen. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  8. ↑ "Approve Whistleblowers Protection Bill in the budget session: NCPRI". mint. 19 April 2013.
  9. ↑ IANS (2 December 2013). "NCPRI for early passage of whistleblowers protection bill". Times of India. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  10. ↑ PTI (23 February 2014). "Whistleblowers' Protection Bill passed". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  11. ↑ Katakam, Anupama. "Nikhil Dey: 'RTI helped change the culture of governance'". Frontline. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  12. ↑ Johri, Amrita; Bhardwaj, Anjali (12 February 2020). "Six years on, Lokpal is a non-starter". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  13. ↑ Jha, Himanshu (2021). Mukherjee, Rahul; Mitra, Subrata K; Jha, Raghbendra (eds.). "Capturing Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India - Oxford Scholarship". oxford.universitypressscholarship.com. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190124786.001.0001. ISBN   978-0-19-012478-6 . Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "Centre's Access to Information on Electoral Bonds' Donors Is Unfair: Opposition". The Wire. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  15. ↑ Campaigns of NCPRI from Official website of NCPRI accessed 23.12.2023
  16. ↑ "Activists meet PM to protest against RTI amendments". The Times of India.
  17. ↑ "Petition for passage of Whistleblower Protection bill" . Retrieved 1 March 2014.
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