Shimla, Oct. 13 -- As the Right to Information (RTI) Act completed 20 years of its implementation on October 12, AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh, Rajani Patil, accused the NDA government of systematically diluting its essence through successive amendments. Addressing a joint press conference in Shimla, Patil, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Pratibha Singh and AICC spokesperson and MLA Kuldeep Singh Rathore highlighted the significance of the RTI Act. "The history of the Right to Information Act has completed 20 years. The credit goes to Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh. Since 2014, the RTI has been continuously weakened, undermining the transparency and democratic structure of our country," said Patil, while addressing the press conference, adding that during the UPA government, Congress leadership had also given the nation landmark rights such as Right to Education and Right to Food Security. The party also presented six key demands to strengthen the RTI framework which includes to Repeal the 2019 amendments to restore the independence of Information Commissions and ensure a fixed 5-year tenure with secure service conditions, Review Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act, which weakens the RTI's public-interest purpose, Fill all vacancies in Central and State Commissions transparently and on time, Set performance standards for Commissions and make public reporting of disposal rates mandatory, Fully implement the Whistleblower Protection Act to safeguard RTI users and whistleblowers and Ensure diversity in Commissions by including journalists, activists, academicians, and women. Pratibha Singh alleged that "the NDA government today is shying away from giving information. The BJP government at the Centre is weakening RTI. Congress had given the gift of RTI to the citizens of the country as their right, under which any citizen of the country has the right to receive any information in a timely manner". AICC Spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Rathore said, "The amendments brought in 2019 and 2023 have destroyed the basic spirit of the RTI."...