The India bloc has called on the government to change the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and remove the disputed Section 44(3), which the opposition believes violates the RTI Act.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi informed that the INDIA bloc parties discussed the Digital Data Protection Act during the Parliament's session.

Previously, it was believed that there was a brief history of this Act, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was established, and a report was submitted.

But when the bill is passed, the government often adds changes that drastically change the character of the JPC report.

"This bill was passed in 2023, amidst a no-confidence motion in Parliament related to Manipur. Since then, we have been studying the implications of the Digital Data Protection Act and have come to understand that the recent amendments have a draconian impact on citizens' rights and press freedom," Gogoi informed.

Gogoi added that Section 44(3), which alters some parts of the RTI Act, is a very dangerous part of the recently passed Digital Data Protection Act.

 

Since our recommendations won't significantly alter the original Data Protection Bill, he expressed hope that the government will give this bill careful consideration. "The spirit of the RTI Act will be ensured by eliminating Section 44(3) from the Digital Data Protection Act," he continued.

When the opposition was protesting the Manipur situation, this bill was hurriedly passed. The RTI was to be discontinued by the government. He added that the Central administration is currently weakening other UPA-era policies that revolutionized governance, in addition to RTI.

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"Digital platforms are very important today, but the way the government is preparing to control it will cause a lot of harm to investigative journalism," Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi remarked in response to this problem. The RTI Act is currently being totally destroyed by the administration. The people will no longer be able to obtain information due to the numerous provisions that the administration has introduced. "This is really regrettable," she continued.