Right to Information should enable citizens to question government: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: The Right to Information should mean the right to question the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday at the annual RTI convention, which was marred by controversy with the civil society boycotting Modi's inaugural address and staging protests outside the venue.

"It is true that Right to Information gives the common man the right to know, but it shouldn't be restricted to that. He (the common man) should have the right to question the government and this is the foundation of democracy," Modi said speaking at the 9th annual convention of Central Information Commission. Under fire from the Congress for moving to muzzle RTI, Modi batted for transparency in his inaugural speech.

"The process of accessing information should be transparent, timely and trouble-free. Delayed information does not help to solve the problem but increases it. Timely information can halt a wrong decision. We will emphasise this," he said. "Why can't we bring transparency proactively? Why should anyone make effort to get information. The effort of the government should be that citizen should get information easily," he said.

The PM also said Digital India scheme is complementary to the spirit of RTI as the more the things become online, the more transparency comes in.