Seeking umbrage under Official Secrets Act
The real strength of a democracy lies in transparency. The need to maintain secrecy in official interest is not always in public interest.
PRABHAKAR KULKARNI says it is time to amend the Official Secrets Act to allow this
The real strength of a democracy lies in transparency. Secrecy in government’s affairs and also in its deliberations amounts to autocracy. The need to maintain secrecy in official interest is not always in public interest. Some recent decisions by Maharashtra’s cabinet and the following discussion in electronic and print media have raised a vital question regarding transparency
In a cabinet meeting on 23rd February, state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat was severely criticised as he had cancelled acquisition of land for SEZs by the Ambanis without intimating the chief minister or cabinet colleagues, Thorat was harshly criticized by both the Congress and NCP ministers. This inside news was leaked and next day it appeared in almost all Marathi newspapers in Maharashtra. In an earlier meeting Maharashtra home minster R.R.Patil had expressed discontent at leakage of whatever was discussed in the recent cabinet meeting about additional collector Yeshwant Sonawane’s death and the direction that the inquiry should take. He had alleged in a news conference on 6th of February that ministers had been leaking secret discussions to media persons and that it would be good if press persons were allowed to be present at cabinet meetings.
Fomer chief minister Ashok Chavan had also fallen prey to a similar leakage. When he announced at a cabinet meeting that driving licences for taxis would be issued to those who spoke Marathi, this was widely reported and caused quite a stir. The situation turned serious enough for Chavan to modify his statement saying that what he meant was that they would be issued to those who spoke the local languages including Hindi, The follow up to this expose which was discussed at a cabinet meeting also found its way to the press. Congress minister Narayan Rane had made it know that the government land allotted to Videocon had been given at a price way below the market rate.
It is not as if these official leaks are restricted to Maharashtra. When the West Bengal government signed a deal with the Tatas for the Nano plant they gave them several concessions which were kept secret. These included Rs 200 crore loan at one per cent interest, concessional power tariff and compensation on taxes. This deal was leaked to a financial daily. On the other hand the deal that the Gujarat government signed with the Tatas,. who moved the project out of West Bengal, is a closely guarded secret.
It is important that the state should not only disclose those of its decisions which would find favour with the general public and the corporate world but also decisions that are controversial. It is important that these decisions be critically examined before they come to the implementation stage.
It is high time the Official Secrets Act enacted by the British is looked at closely. Why should it be in operation after independence? Such an act is acceptable if matters of national security are being discussed but such is hardly like to be the case with state cabinet discussions. It is a moot point and there is a case for making cabinet meeting decisions public.
Some recent instances in which retired bureaucrats have exposed ministers and politicians and have been threatened under the provisions of the Official Secrets Act show that the act has become a tool for erring politicians and bureaucrats.