Former information commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu on Friday wrote an open letter to the chief ministers of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, asking them to issue a statement explaining their reasons and compulsions for supporting the amendments to the Right to Information Act that go against the spirit of federalism.
The parties headed by the three chief ministers — Naveen Patnaik of the BJD, Jagan Reddy of the YSRCP and K. Chandrasekhar Rao of the TRS — voted with the government on Thursday to reject an Opposition motion to refer the bill to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha despite having reservations about its intent.
The BJD and the TRS had, in fact, signed up on the motion to refer the bill to a select committee but withdrew their signatures at the eleventh hour allegedly after Union ministers called up the chief ministers to seek their support.
“What is it that you have achieved by this support to this unconstitutional, anti-democratic and anti-federal bill? Was there any fear or apprehension you are suffering from? Among the three of you, only one has some charges against him pending, then why were the other two worried about the Centre? What compelled you three to surrender your sovereignty to Delhi sultanate?’’ Acharyulu asked in his letter.
The focus of Acharyulu’s letter is on the violation of the principle of federalism provided in the Constitution. The bill empowers the Centre to specify the tenure and terms and conditions of service of information commissioners in the states. Till now, these were spelt out in the RTI Act.
Having listed all that was problematic with the much-contested bill that he personally feels should be dropped, Acharyulu said: “Please release detailed statements in your respective capital cities explaining what compelled to accept this unconstitutional bill which destroys the independence of information commissioners and encroach upon the sovereign rights of states, which you did not mind sacrificing. Remember, you are answerable and accountable to the people of your state.’’
