Ahmedabad:In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, senior journalist and Information Commissioner of India Uday Mahurkar said that his priority to ensure justice to the people of this country will not change even after being appointed as Information Commissioner.
The senior journalist from Gujarat Uday Mahurkar was recently appointed information commissioner at the centre. Uday Mahurkar was a student of MS University of Vadodara and has worked as an editor for a private news organization.
Uday Mahurkar has written two books on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mahurkar says he is a believer in VD Savarkar's 'nation first' ideology.
Information commissioner Uday Mahurkar spoke on some important issues concerning with the RTI process in an exclusive interview to ETV Bharat. He made his stand very clear regarding the misuse of RTI.
Information Commissioner of India Uday Mahurkar in an Exclusive Interview with ETV Bharat Excerpts from the interview:
Q: What steps will you take first after assuming the office?
Ans: My first responsibility would be to ensure justice to the common people with the help of RTI. Will take action against the misuse of RTI. This is a bit complex and requires to be handled delicately. I will work on these two directions in my post. Generally, a government official is appointed to this post. For the first time, a journalist has been given this responsibility. Therefore, people are having many expectations. I have the experience of watching the government from outside as a journalist.
Q: How will you stop the misuse of RTI?
Ans:There is a thin line between Public Interest application under the RTI. Therefore, it is difficult to separate the two. I had visited over 2,000 of the total 18,000 villages of Gujarat. This experience would quite useful too. There are few challenges too for the commission which I will try to resolve in my capacity.
Q: What are the lapses under the RTI system and what will you do to overcome from them? How you will make the process simple?
Ans:RTI can be of interest for both private and public. It should be used to serve people. But it is utilised perniciously by some departments and public sector units to their advantage. RTI should be helpful to the people in getting justice, so efforts will be made to simplify the process. People should know that the central Information department is not for redressal of public grievances. But, it can lend only a helping hand.
Q: What are the impacts of social media on journalism?
Ans:There are both benefits and ill-effects of social media. Truth gets lost somewhere on trolling. Social media is a good platform. It is a vital tool for enriching democracy. But it has some inherent dangers that camouflage the truth.
Q: How do you see the journey of Narendra Modi from the chief minister of Gujarat to Prime Minister of India?
Ans: I see every government with a positive view. There can be mistakes and flaws in the Narendra Modi government. There are several issues like poverty for which the Narendra Modi government has taken good steps, especially, the Jan-Dhan scheme. At present, religious conflict and hatred between the communities need to be removed.
