Arrest strengthened my resolve, says RTI activist

RTI activist Siva Elango on Saturday said his arrest and imprisonment have strengthened his resolve to fight against corruption. He was arrested and sent to jail for refusing to stand during the hearing of his appeal at the state information commission on Wednesday. Elango said he is gearing up to step up his crusade to make more people use the Right to Information Act.
“I don’t have any regrets about going to jail. The three days in Puzhal gave me a chance to teach prisoners about the RTI Act” said Elango, who was released on conditional bail on Saturday.
Elango said he was able to weather the travails of a prison life because he grew up in poor family in rural Tiruvarur. On the first day at prison, Elango was put in a cramped cell. “It was hard to sleep as I had to share the little space with three others. Poor quality of food reminded me of the noon meal that I used to have at school when I was growing up”.
Elango said he was surprised to know about the conditional bail. “I did not know that filing RTI and demanding rights is a crime in Tamil Nadu. The hearing at the magistrate’s chamber was brief. I was remanded in less than five minutes.”
“Petitioners go through a humiliating process during the hearing against public information officers. Many are scared to file appeals. The proceedings should be made transparent. This will ensure that applicants are treated well,” said ElangoRecalling the events that led to his arrest, he said: “The two member commission – chief information commissioner K S Sripathi and commissioner S F Akbar –asked me to stand during the proceedings. I asked for a copy of the rule which says appellants should stand. But they demanded I stand for the hearing to continue. When I refused, they called another petitioner. But I continued to sit”.
“It’s unfortunate that a petitioner has to remain standing at a hearing while a PIO who is accused of delaying and denying information is well seated during the proceedings” he said.
Elango started his fight by joining Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam, an NGO. “I used to write a column on RTI Act in ‘Nammal Mudiyum’ magazine. It was made into a book and 50,000 copies were circulated. I realized the magnitude of corruption after I received a call at 3am about a ‘Patta’ complaint. This was the trigger behind forming an anti-corruption call centre,” he said.