By IANS,
Shillong: Social activist Aruna Roy Thursday said India’s second war of independence has to be fought with the right to information (RTI) law, to free the nation from poverty and corruption.
“The next battle is ready with information and understanding of issues through the RTI and it is the ideal tool to help eradicate poverty and corruption,” the Magsaysay awardee said.
Roy is in Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, to attend a three-day national campaign for people’s right to information on the theme “Reclaiming democracy”, which started off with a “ghotala rath yatra” (chariot of scams).
The protest march passed through various parts of Shillong highlighting various scams in the past 60 years.
Former Supreme Court chief justice J.S. Verma, former election commissioner of India J.M. Lyngdoh and social activists from across the country are attending the convention.
Roy, who has fought for the transparency law for years before its enactment in 2005, said the rich and powerful have been misusing “our money and power” for years now, but the RTI is helping expose big scams perpetuated by such people.