Is it RTI’s turn to get murdered, asks Kharge as Economic Survey suggests a relook

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the Narendra Modi-led government of systematically weakening the Right to Information (RTI) Act, a day after the Economic Survey called for a “re-examination” of the nearly two-decade-old transparency law.

The Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament on Thursday, argued that the RTI Act may require re-examination. It suggested exempting confidential service records and exploratory or draft policy discussions from disclosure by introducing a possible “ministerial veto”.

Mr. Kharge said these recommendations reflected an intent to dilute public accountability.

‘BJP weakening RTI framework’

The Congress chief alleged that the BJP government had been weakening the RTI framework since coming to power in 2014. He pointed to the pendency of over 26,000 RTI cases as of 2025 and recalled amendments introduced in 2019 that allowed the Centre to determine the tenure and salaries of Information Commissioners, which, he claimed, undermined their independence.

Mr. Kharge also criticised the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, saying it diluted the RTI Act’s public interest clause. According to him, the law had been used to “weaponise privacy” to block information and shield wrongdoing from scrutiny.

Referring to institutional vacancies, Mr. Kharge said the Central Information Commission (CIC) had functioned without a Chief Information Commissioner until December 2025, marking the seventh instance in the past 11 years when the post was left vacant. He described this as a deliberate attempt to weaken the transparency regime.

Raising concerns over the safety of transparency activists, the Congress president claimed that more than 100 RTI activists had been killed since 2014. He also accused the government of failing to implement the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014, passed during the Congress-led UPA government, to protect those exposing corruption.

Drawing a parallel with the Centre’s approach to welfare schemes, Mr. Kharge asked whether the RTI Act would meet the same fate as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). “After killing MGNREGA, is it RTI’s turn to get murdered?” he asked.