New Delhi, Jan. 31 -- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the government of systematically weakening the Right to Information (RTI) Act, citing a suggestion in the Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament on Thursday. Kharge said the survey suggested a possible "ministerial veto" to withhold information and wants to explore the possibility of shielding public service records, transfers, and staff reports of bureaucrats from public scrutiny. "In 2019, the Modi Govt hacked away at the RTI Act, seizing control over Information Commissioners' tenure and pay, converting independent watchdogs into submissive functionaries," Kharge said on X. Kharge said over 26,000 RTI cases were pending as of 2025. He added the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, gutted the RTI's public interest clause, weaponising privacy to shield corruption and stonewall scrutiny. "Until last month (December 2025), the Central Information Commission had been functioning without a Chief Information Commissioner - the seventh time in 11 years this key post was deliberately kept vacant," he said....