Turning on itself

The Right to Information Act has been one of the biggest policy imprints of the UPA (though it has been in the works for years before that,and a feeble “Freedom of Information Act” had been enacted in 2002,one that was repealed and replaced with this much more progressive and participatory legislation). It rests on the premise that the government and the governed are on the same side — a radical notion in a country that has long been labouring under the lofty aloofness of a colonial-era official secrets regime. The government,or parts of it,have attacked the RTI for causing disruptions and inconveniences,or relaying “frivolous petitions”. However,there is little doubt now that RTI-enabled investigations have the power to deeply unsettle the powerful — details about the Commonwealth Games corruption,Adarsh housing society scandal,various facets of the 2G spectrum allocation back-and-forth in the government,and far more,have all been excavated by determined RTI efforts. Unfortunately,faced with this torrent of embarrassing material,sections of the government have doubled back and questioned the medium itself. M. Veerappa Moily recently claimed that RTI had become an obstructive force,and needed to be contained — even as he claimed it was Sonia Gandhi’s largesse,rather than the entitlement of citizens in a democracy.

These are difficult times for the UPA,and it doesn’t help that some of its best efforts are being thwarted by its own leaders. Another instance is the Unique Identification Number,Aadhaar — great expectations were pinned on the project as an efficient way of getting social entitlements across,despite the strong privacy and surveillance-related misgivings it raised for some. The UID project had full political backing,it was defended and insulated from official and activist interference. However,of late,as the UPA fights for its own survival,and as various internal skirmishes become visible,the UID project has been undermined by forces within the government. Doubts have been voiced about its supposedly rising costs and its utility in tandem with efforts like the national population register and smart cards in various states,and whether it will be a final and valid ID in the sense that it was intended to be.

In short,the UPA proposes,the UPA seeks to dispose. For its own credibility,the government must learn to claim and commit to its ideas.