The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared a proposed legislation to protect those who dare to expose chinks in the giant wheel. How much will that help?
The Union Cabinet on Monday cleared a proposed legislation to protect those who dare to expose chinks in the giant wheel. How much will that help?
A 30-year-old block development officer's suicide in 2008 in a remote West Bengal village would not have merited more than a single column space in an inside page of local dailies. It made it to the front page and was followed up relentlessly. Reason: The BDO, Kallol Sur, was a whistleblower. And he had blown the whistle on the CPM-led panchayat in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and exposed party leaders who withheld wages of workers. And, like in countless other cases, the state failed to protect him. Sur was found dead under mysterious circumstances soon after.u00a0 
A protest against the killing of eight RTI activists. Pic/mid day
Two years later, things remain the same. On July 20, RTI activist Amit Jethwa was gunned down outside the Ahmedabad High Court. The activist had dared to name BJP's Junagadh MP Dinu Solanki in a case involving illegal mining in Gir forest periphery.
Need for action
Finally acknowledging the need to protect bravehearts who dare to expose corruption, the Union Cabinet on Monday cleared a proposed legislation to protect whistleblowers and punish those who expose the identity of people disclosing information. The Public Interest Disclosure And Protection To Persons Making The Disclosure Bill, 2010, gives the Central Vigilance Commission the powers of a civil court to award harsh penalties to people revealing the identity of whistleblowers. The bill will now be tabled in Parliament and, if passed, sent to the President.
The bill has provisions to prevent victimisation or disciplinary action against those who expose scams or corruption in any form and will cover Central, state and public sector employees. The bill has clauses to impose penalties on people who punish those exposing corruption. The CVC will be the nodal authority and also been given the power to act against those making frivolous complaints.
A furore has been on for some time over exposing the names of whistleblowers in wikileaks.com, and activists in India have raised demands for a bill similar to the US Whistleblowers Protect Act of 1989 (amended in 1994). This year has witnessed 20 attacks on whistleblowers and among them, eight have been killed.
No end to torture
Such cases abound. Take, for instance, the case of Sumaira Abdul Ali who was attacked by goons following her complaint on illegal sand mining in Raigad district's Bankot Creek area. In May, RTI activist Datta Patilu00a0-- who unearthed a corruption racket that resulted in the removal of a deputy superintendent of policeu00a0-- was found murdered.
Even the Capital does not ensure protection to those who dare to bare. So in February, an RTI activist was assaulted in Delhi's Kishanganj area, allegedly under orders from an MCD councillor.
Some of the most prominent, and much-publicised cases, are those of young engineer Satyendra Dubey and that of Shanmughan Manjunath, a manager at a state-owned oil company. Dubey dared to bring out the corruption in the national highway programme. Manjunath brought to light a scheme to sell impure gasoline. His bullet-ridden body was found in the back seat of his car.
And now that there is some action towards getting an authority in place, will it protect activists? Says Amit Jethwa's father Bhikhalal K Jethwa: "The government should focus on a much stronger law. No illegal mining can happen without the support of political parties so this law is ridiculous."
The outsider's pangs
u00a0The bill, however, does not take care of RTI activists who work from outside the system. Sanip Shetty, the brother of RTI activist Sandip, said: "The bill has nothing to do with whistleblowers working outside the system. It is only for those who are part of the system."
RTI activist Chetan Kothari feels tough laws are required. Kallol Sur's father will agree. The BDO, who was under "immense political pressure", had filed an FIR naming CPM panchayat pradhan Kartik Mondal and job supervisor Ajoy Bhowmik, also a local CPM leader. He was threatened, gheraoed and even been called 'mad'.
It remains to be seen whether more lion-hearted men and women in the country will pay the price for being
honest. But this is a start.
The bill gives the Central Vigilance Commission the powers of a civil court to award harsh penalties to people revealing the identity of whistleblowers
It is a desirable legislation, but how it is positioned, how it protects the whistleblowers, the contents, the draft and the idea are all important. It should not be misused in a democracy as it will be a technique to protect working people.u00a0- Rajiv Pratap Rudy , BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP
I have to see it. Let it be presented in the House.u00a0- D. Raja, CPI
It is a good thing that the government is finally taking note, but the main motive of any activist is also to get the conspirators punished. In my case, the goons who attacked me were arrested and later released on bail and the illegal mining has started again. So first make the law stronger and punish the conspirators timely, only then the rights of activists will be protected.u00a0- Activist Sumaira Abdul Ali
Only providing security will not solve the problem. Tough laws are required to punish the people involved in illegal businesses as they manage police and local administration making a safe passage -u00a0Activist Chetan Kothari
(With inputs from Kaumudi Gurjar)
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