New Delhi: On the 18th anniversary of the enactment of the Right to Information Act (RTI), the Congress on Thursday alleged that the Modi government has continually made attempts to weaken the law, dilute its provisions, appoint the "PM's drumbeaters" as its Commissioners and reject requests.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the RTI Act was transformative till 2014 at least.

"Today is the 18th anniversary of the enactment of the historic Right to Information Act (RTI). It was transformative till 2014 at least. After that the Modi government has continually made attempts to weaken the law, dilute its provisions, appoint the PM's drumbeaters as its Commissioners and reject requests," Ramesh said.

"The initial trigger for the amendments was because RTI revelations proved extremely embarrassing for the PM himself. I had challenged some of these amendments in the Supreme Court and I am still hoping that the petition will be heard soon since RTI is fast moving onto RIP/Om Shanti status," the Congress general secretary said.

Ramesh also shared his intervention of July 25, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha on some major amendments introduced to the RTI Act.

The Right to Information Act 2005 mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information.

The RTI Act came into force with effect from October 12, 2005.PTI