I am sure all efforts are being made, but no arrests have yet been made, said Jairam
Patna: Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has written to Bihar Chief Minister raising concerns over the recent murders of RTI activists in Bihar.
Mr. Ramesh said in the letter that his ministry was working on a protocol – that would be applicable for the entire country – for such cases.
In two recent incidents, whistleblowers Ram Thakur from Muzaffarpur and Ram Vilas Singh from Lakhisarai were murdered in Bihar. The two were instrumental in exposing the irregularities in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and in other rural development programmes.
Mr. Ramesh’s letter, dated April 23, states: "I am sure all the efforts are being made to arrest the murders of Mr. Thakur [and Ram Vilas Singh]. However, no arrest has been made yet. I am hopeful that the government takes strict measures against corruption and crime."
Mr. Thakur’s case was brought to the Minster’s notice by civil society representatives at a public hearing in Delhi. Mr. Ramesh pointed out that the process of social audit was left incomplete after the village mukhiya and his men beat up the whistleblowers.
Mr. Ramesh said threats and murders of anti-corruption activists and their family members should be taken up and supervised at the highest level.
The letter suggests the setting up of a social audit directorate for MGNREGA, special audits for the scheme and other rural development works where whistleblowers have been injured or killed, compensation to the affected activists and their families, recovery of embezzled funds and initiation of criminal proceedings against perpetrators.
In a statement issued on Friday, the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) called for implementation of Mr. Ramesh’s suggestions.
‘I hope Bihar government will employ strict measures against corruption and crime’
The two whistleblowers had helped expose irregularities in rural development projects