Odisha activist’s plea forces Centre to plegde changes in Whistleblowers’ Bill

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Feb 12, 2015 at 12:35 PM Updated On : Feb 12, 2015 at 7:51 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Feb 12:

Amendments will be made to the Whistleblowers Protection Bil before it becomes an Act, the Union government has told the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in response to a notice served by the Commission on a petition filed by Odisha based human rights activist Akhand.

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The response of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions of the Central Government came during the hearing on Akhand’s petition against attacks and acts of vendetta against the human rights activists and Right to Information (RTI) activists in the country on Wednesday.

Akhand had filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) complaining that the activists are being harassed as the Whistleblowers Protection Bill, amied at protecting anyone who exposes wrongdoing in government bodies, projects and offices, is not being implemented properly.

While the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on February 21, 2014 and got the nod from President of India on May 9, 2014, it has not yet been implemented properly due to lack of will and efficiency of the government, Akhand pointed out.

More than 50 RTI activists have been murdered during this period, Akhand alleged in the petition.