People have right to know; CPI warns Pinarayi Vijayan against subverting RTI

After taking strong exemption to encounter killing of Maoist leaders in Nilambur forests, Communist Party of India (CPI) the second largest  partner in the ruling LDF in Kerala once again went public against the state government by questioning its stand against revealing cabinet decisions under Right to Information (RTI) Act.

 Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the other day that it was not possible to bring Cabinet decisions under the gambit of RTI.  Not all Cabinet decisions can be disclosed to the public as it might affect the implementation, he said.  

The Chief Minister had also urged the bureaucrats to identify persons who misused legislation for their interests! 

But, Kanam Rajendran, the state secretary of CPI  hit back saying that the government was bound to abide by the provisions of the RTI Act. 

"The cabinet decisions are for the people, and the public has the right to know them," Rajendran pronounced his stand unambiguously clear." 

All the provisions of the RTI Act, as the Centre enacted it, should be implemented here. The RTI Act exempts decisions related to national security from its gambit. The CPI is not demanding any new provisions in the act. But the law should be implemented as it is, including the provisions on Cabinet decisions, the CPI leader said. 

Issuing a stern warning against any attempts to subvert the RTI Act, Rajendran said that the efforts to bring back the Official Secrets Act of the British era would be strongly opposed. 

This is the second time,the CPI is directly attacking the Chief Minister and the government since November last year when two Maoist leaders were killed in a suspected fake encounter in Nilambur forests. Expressing shock over the killing, the CPI had warned the Pinarayi Vijayan government that it was not advisable for it to follow Modi government. 

• RTI
• Right to Know
• Pinarayi on RTI
• Cabinet decisions
• CPM-CPI spat
• Kanam Rajendran
• PInarayi Vijayan