With the central cabinet giving nod to a bill which empowers the Central Vigilance Commission to penalise anyone who reveals the identity of whistleblowers, MiD DAY talks to four such crusaders
With the central cabinet giving nod to a bill which empowers the Central Vigilance Commission to penalise anyone who reveals the identity of whistleblowers, MiD DAY talks to four such crusaders
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Ravindranath Guru (66), a retired scientist from the department of Information Technology has been waging a lone battle against politicians and government officials as an RTI activist.
He earned the wrath of a local councillor, when he exposed officials allowing illegal buildings in south of Bangalore, through an RTI application.
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| (Clockwise) RTI activists Vijayakumar, JSD Pani, YG Muralidharan, Ravindranath Guru. |
Following which, the information commissioner penalised an assistant engineer for non-cooperation in providing information.
This irked the councillor, who had allegedly connived with BBMP officials, and he started threatening Guru. When he didn't budge, goons threw stones at his house. He was also attacked several times.
"The cops refused to file an FIR," said Ravindranath Guru. "Finally, a senior minister intervened, but I still feel there's a risk."
MN Vijayakumar, a senior IAS officer, is another such crusader within the system. But it came for him at the cost of his mental peace and career growth he was transferred seven times in less than a year's time.
Vijayakumar is the only IAS officer in the state to declare assets and liabilities to the Lokayukta. However, his move has only earned him enmity of fellow officers.
Risk involved
"The threat to our lives is not from the rowdies, but from the bureaucrats," said Jayashree J N, Vijayakumar's wife. "Just yesterday, a senior IAS officer called to warn of dire consequences. He was abusive."
"After Satyendra Dubey was killed for exposing corruption in Bihar, the cabinet secretary had written to the chief secretaries of the states to set up a standing committee to hear whistleblowers within the system, but it has not happened. My requests only fell on deaf ears," said Vijayakumar.
While welcoming the bill, he suggested legislation at the state level, as it would be effective in protecting the honest officers in the state government.
JSD Pani (66), is a pharmacy industrialist-turned-RTI activist, and has several exposures to his credit, including unearthing corruption that resulted in the transfer of the chief secretary in 2008.
The information he obtained through RTI Act helped the Lokayukta nail the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewage Board chairman who had amassed wealth disproportionate to his income.
In a raid, the Lokayukta investigators had found assets worth Rs 20 crore, a record high till date.
"I am used to threatening calls," said Pani. "But I have decided to dedicate my life to this fight because it gives me a sense of satisfaction."
YG Muralidharan, one of the earliest to talk about the RTI, has been active since 1993 through Consumer Rights Education & Awareness Trust (CREAT), and has influenced the government to bring in the act.
Muralidharan has conducted several workshops to train government officials and public apart from exposing irregularities in the system. "Awareness has to be created through education," said Muralidharan.
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"A proper approach will definitely yield results while I am not ruling out the risk involved."
The Bill
The central cabinet gave nod to the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosure Bill 2010, on August 9.
The bill provides Central Vigilance Commission powers of a civil court to hand down harsh penalty to people revealing the identity of whistleblowers. It covers central, state and public sector employees.
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