Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said even those with a “runaway imagination” would not believe that he had spoken against the spirit of the Right to Information Act (RTI).
Mr. Vijayan had controversially said at a RTI seminar recently that there were persons who misused the law, and certain information, such as impending Cabinet decisions, should remain classified until implementation.
His remark had drawn criticism from various quarters, notably the Communist Party of India (CPI).
The party’s State secretary Kanam Rajendran criticised the statement as indefensible and against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) policy.
Mr. Vijayan clarified in a statement that he had made no mention about cabinet affairs at the seminar as alleged.
He had only hinted at the likelihood that vested interests could misuse RTI to stall governance.
His comment that discretion should be used in revealing matters of defence and security in national interest applied more to Central cabinet decisions. The interpretation that “someone” in the government was eroding RTI implementation was an “unfortunate lie”.
It was a brazen attempt to bracket his government with the previous United Democratic Front, which was infamous for having suppressed corruption by denying RTI requests. The move to discredit the government was against the values of the LDF, he said.
Mr. Vijayan’s reply was widely viewed as a strong refutation of Mr. Rajendran’s statement. Mr. Vijayan said his speech was not viewed in its entirety. Instead it was comprehended in parts and portrayed as anti-RTI by dropping quotes from him out of context.
He had said that RTI requests should not be denied on the ground that they would be misused. He had upheld the right of citizens to know how public money was spent.
He asked whether his critics were of the opinion that matters of national security should be opened to RTI so that “imperial powers” could use the critical information to destabilise the country. He had no case that government records should be kept concealed behind an iron curtain. RTI should be implemented to expose, deter, and fight corruption, he said.
