New Delhi: The Right to Information Act is
one of the most progressive legislations passed by Indian
Parliament since Independence, Chief Information Commissioner
Wajahat Habibullah has said.
The CIC, who would be demitting office on September 30,
said one of the most radical provisions of the Act is that the
information-seeker need not give any reason for it or prove
his locus standi.
In a foreword to a book "The Change Maker" which has a
collection of letters written by activist Subhash Chandra
Agrawal to various newspapers and different government
authorities, Habibullah said future generations will owe a
deep debt of gratitude to crusaders like him.
Habibullah said this book makes it clear that Agarwal`s
desire is to exercise his right to know.
"Agrawal`s motives are simple, moved only by a desire to
demonstrate exercise of the right of every citizen to know, to
suggest and to advise and bring to realisation the dream of
India`s Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh who upon the passage
of Right to Information Bill in Parliament in June 2005 spoke
of the dawn of an `era which will bring the common man`s
concern to heart of all processes of governance`," he said.
The book published by Global Vision Press and edited by
Vigyan Bhushan is a collection of letters written by Agrawal
who holds a Guinness Book of World Record for most number of
published letters to the editor.
PTI
