Oppn, govt battle it out over data protection law's impact on RTI Act

INDIA bloc has urged the Centre to amend the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and repeal the controversial Section 44(3), which the Opposition feels infringes upon the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

About 130 senior leaders of the Opposition bloc have written to Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, pointing out that the section destroys press freedom and citizens' Right to Information. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act was passed in Parliament in 2023. INDIA bloc on Thursday said it was passed "surreptitiously" when the House was discussing the Manipur violence.

Addressing media persons, Lok Sabha's deputy leader of the Opposition Gaurav Gogoi said after having read the implications of the provision in the Act, it was found that Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act sought to substitute Section 8 (1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005. Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act allowed withholding of personal information if its disclosure did not serve any public interest. "But Section 44(3) of DPDP Act says notwithstanding anything in the Act no personal information can be given. So, if you want to know today who was the contractor of the bridge that collapsed in Bihar and if all contracts were given to the same person, then the government will not provide this information as it is 'personal'. Very surreptitiously, maliciously and mischievously the right to information of the people has been snatched from the people."

MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyank Chaturvedi also termed the provision as a "four-sided assault on press freedom, especially on investigative journalism". She said the RTI had exposed corruption in the country.

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, however, negated the points raised by the Opposition and Congress's Jairam Ramesh. In a reply to him on X, Vaishnaw said DPDP Act is in harmony with the privacy principles as enshrined in the Puttaswamy verdict and the principles of transparency in public life as enacted in the RTI Act. "Any personal information that is subject to disclosure under legal obligations under various laws governing our public representatives and welfare programmes like MGNREGA, etc will continue to be disclosed under the RTI Act. In fact, this amendment will not restrict disclosure of personal information, rather it aims to strengthen the privacy rights of the individuals and prevent the potential misuse of the law," Vaishnaw wrote on X.