The lifeless body of 38-year-old Poipynhun Majaw was found on March 28 near a bridge in Khliehriat, in the small Indian hilly state of Meghalaya.

State police said unknown assailants killed him with a heavy iron object, possibly a wrench, which was found at the scene.

Majaw was a Right to Information (RTI) activist.

Using the RTI Act, which is similar to the US’ Freedom of Information Act, he had exposed local corruption involving the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and cement companies, which were mining without council permission.

Activists say Majaw was killed because he was attempting to shine a light on the murky relationship between government and business.

Fellow campaigner Agnes Kharshiing, in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, says he had “wanted to do something good for his people”.

Local media reported police as saying the leads they have received into Majaw’s death received were inconclusive.

“He really tried hard, his death shook us all,” says Kharshiing. “We all know he was killed.”

This is a way to control the information commissioners who control the information flow. We need to fight this. This is one of the best laws we have, any amendments will weaken it.

RTI is aimed at helping India’s citizen watchdogs.

Almost 2,000km away in New Delhi, the Indian capital, a draft bill seeks to amend the landmark act, which was signed into law in 2005.

Activists say the government is aiming to throttle the act, which enables all citizens to access information held by public authorities, improving accountability and transparency.

Circulated in July, the bill seeks to weaken the autonomy of the bodies, known as the Information Commissions, that oversee implementation of the law.

The government has told MPs it wants to amend the current law so it can decide the tenure, salaries and other allowances of Information Commissions officials – the final adjudicators on information requests.

“This is a way to control the information commissioners who control the information flow. We need to fight this. This is one of the best laws we have, any amendments will weaken it,” Shailesh Gandhi, a former Information Commissioner tells Al Jazeera.

“With these proposed changes, they could keep extending tenures of those officials who are amenable to the government of the day. The truth is that a great number of these officials anyway toe the government line. Some break away and dispense information dispassionately. These new amendments can be a way to control such officials. This is likely going to lead to other amendments,” he added.

Radha Krishna Mathur, Chief Information Commissioner in New Delhi, did not respond to Al Jazeera’s multiple requests for comment by the time of publishing.

Dozens killed seeking information
An estimated five to eight million RTI applications are filed every year.

At least 21.4 million RTI applications were filed across the country between 2005 and 2017, according to data filed by some Information Commissions. The total number is expected to be higher.

Some sought information about welfare and social schemes for the poor and examine land records. Others were aimed at exposing the exploitation of natural resources by local criminal gangs and political figures.

More than 70 RTI users have been killed since the act was signed into law 18 years ago, according to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.

In the same period, there have been at least 300 assaults and 179 cases of harassment relating to the act, the organization said.

Activists trying to expose sour government deals – from illegal sand mining and alleged tampering of electronic voting machines to corruption in local government – are among those who have been targeted.

“Most of these people [who have been killed were] based in small towns and villages. They were trying to expose wrongdoing by authorities and local goons and they suffered for it,” Venkatesh Nayak at the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, an international NGO that tracks RTI implementation, tells Al Jazeera.

I find hope in the fact that village people here in the remote hills use RTI to find out about their rights. We will carry on, undeterred by threats.

It is not clear when the government will table the bill, but those planning to use the transparency tool already face a difficult time ahead, say activists.

More than 25 percent of 146 posts in the Information Commissions are vacant. On July 27, the government’s Department of Personnel and Training announced in an advert that the salaries and tenure of RTI Information Commissioners “will be specified at the time of appointment”.

This move was interpreted as the government pre-empting the amendment, by interfering in details the that current law does not allow it to manage.

“They are trying to widen the ambit of what information should not be given out. In the last two or three years, there has been a dip in the number of RTI applications filed because the government, courts, and commissioners have in tandem said they do not wish to give out information in many cases,” says former commissioner Gandhi.

In recent weeks, activists across India have protested against the proposals.

Opposition parties have demanded that the bill should not be tabled in parliament in its current form.

But the government has enough power in the lower house of parliament to push through the bill.

‘RTI users are branded as blackmailers’
Filing an RTI is easy: citizens put in their information requests to a state office. The federal law mandates the office to respond in 30 days.

But activists say that currently, some responses are not being sent within 30 days, if at all.

“Everybody in power dislikes transparency. In many parts, RTI users are branded as blackmailers and extortionists – this needs to stop,” says former commissioner Gandhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept into power in May 2014, vowing to tackle corruption.

His battle against corruption has included limiting cash donations to political funding, new “election bonds”, and a shock move to ban high-value currency in 2016.

But critics have questioned the impact of these measures.

In 2017, Transparency International ranked India 81 of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index. New Zealand was ranked first and Somalia last.

Back in remote Meghalaya, fellow campaigners remember Majaw as a warrior for the RTI Act.

They have urged authorities to find and punish his killers and demanded protection for themselves, but claim they feel abandoned and at risk.

“I find hope in the fact that village people here in the remote hills use RTI to find out about their rights,” says activist Kharshiing. “We will carry on, undeterred by threats.”

Aljazeera

Congress MP B.K. Hariprasad was on Wednesday declared as the opposition candidate for the post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, the election for which will be held on Thursday.

Hariprasad, who is into his third term in the Rajya Sabha, hails from Karnataka and has been a Congress General Secretary.

Talking to reporters, Congress leader Anand Sharma said that five sets of nomination papers — five proposers and five seconders — were filed by the combined opposition.

He said opposition leaders were present at the time of filing the nominations.

Sharma, who was accompanied by Hariprasad and NCP MP Vandana Chavan, accused the government and the BJP of “using every tactic, using the influence of their authority and power just to swing the election”.

“Hariprasadji is a senior parliamentarian. It is a joint decision of parties which have been meeting and deliberating for the last few days,” he said.

The parties that have been deliberating to field a joint opposition candidate include Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, ADMK, CPI, CPI-M and Telugu Desam Party.

TDP, which broke away from the BJP earlier this year, signed Hariprasad’s nomination papers.

Sharma said the opposition had the numbers and there will be a contest.

He said Hariprasad is a “formidable candidate” and a “better candidate” than Harivansh of the ruling National Democratic Alliance. Harivansh belongs to Janata Dal (United).

“We have a formidable candidate not the NDA. The BJP, if it had the majority, should have fielded its own candidate…they lacked majority and that’s why they are desperate to reach out to others outside the fold of NDA,” Sharma said.

“Secondly, a formidable candidate is a parliamentarian who can conduct the proceedings, who understands the functioning of the House. When it comes to the two candidates, we have a better candidate,” he added.

Sharma said that by fielding a joint candidate the opposition has made a statement that “it is not happy with the present state of affairs and the prevailing environment in the country”.

Asked if there was a chaos in the Opposition and Congress had been forced to put up its candidate after other parties declined, Sharma said “this statement is incorrect”.

“NDA as such did not have a majority and does not have it now. They have gone well beyond the fold of NDA to get votes. It is true that the Congress does not have numbers on its own. Hariprasadji is not a Congress’ candidate alone. He is the candidate of the joint opposition,” he said.

Asked to elaborate on his accusation that the government is using its authority to swing the election, Sharma said “there is no post that the ruling party does not want to capture”.

“That is why the ruling party did not announce the election earlier. When a few days of the session were left, they suddenly made the announcement. It is obvious they acted to a strategy,” he said.

Sharma said no effort was made by the government, the Prime Minister or the Parliamentary Affairs Minister to talk to the opposition for a consensus. “They only informed us (about their candidate),” he said.

The Congress decided to put up a candidate after the NCP on Tuesday decided against putting fielding its candidate for the August 9 election.

Vandana Chavan’s name was being “actively considered” by opposition parties but NCP decided against fielding her, after apparently sensing that she would not get the support of Biju Janata Dal and Shiv Sena.

A Congress leader had said on Tuesday that the party was willing to contest the election from the beginning but had also offered to back any other Opposition candidate.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had spoken to TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, seeking his party’s support for the party candidate. He apparently also spoke to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Officials said that all the motions for the election of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman will be moved on Thursday and taken for vote in succession. If a motion gets carried, others will not be taken up for vote.

Though the Opposition seemed to have an edge in the election initially, the NDA now appears to be carrying the momentum with likely support of AIADMK, TRS and also the BJD.

The parties which would support an opposition nominee include the Congress (50), TMC (14), SP (13), TDP (6), DMK (4), CPI-M (5), CPI (2), NCP (4), AAP (3), BSP (4), RJD (5), PDP (2), JD-S (1), Nominated (1), Kerala Congress-Mani (1) and IUML (1).

The post of Deputy Chairman fell vacant after P.J. Kurien retired in July.

Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, will arrive in Bengaluru on August 9 and take part in various programmes organized by the Tibetans living in the state up until August 12.

The Dalai Lama will be received by the general public at Hotel Conrad, Halasuru, on Thursday morning. On August 10, he will preside over ‘Thank You Karnataka Day, a programme organized by Tibetans living in the state, at the Taj West End hotel, the organizers said.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will be the chief guest.

On August 11, the Dalai Lama will speak on ‘Courage and compassion in the 21st century’ at a gathering of young professionals and students. On August 12, he will speak on ‘Indian wisdom in the modern world’. Both the events will be conducted at the Conrad Hotel and will start at 9.30 am.

On August 13, he will travel to the Ramanagaram district to deliver a public talk at The Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education at Sheshagrihalli Hejjala Post at 9 am.

The Delhi High Court today dismissed a plea seeking an FIR and a CBI probe against Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and her son for allegedly getting compensation of Rs 1.97 crore by selling a piece of government land to NHAI for widening a national highway in 2010.

Justice R K Gauba rejected the petition which had also challenged an April 18, 2015 decision of a special CBI court here.

The trial court had refused to order a probe into the allegation against Raje and her son, saying no prior sanction was obtained as required under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The high court had earlier asked the prosecution counsel to place before him the notification by which the court was set up.

The trial court had dismissed the private complaint by a Rajasthan-based lawyer, saying there was no sanction order to prosecute them under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

According to the petition by lawyer Srijana Shrestha, Raje was not a public servant at the time of the alleged commission of the offence in 2010 and was Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan legislative assembly.

The petition said Raje and her son had allegedly illegally claimed ownership of a 567 square metre piece of land adjoining the Dholpur Palace in Dholpur town and sold it to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for Rs 1.97 crore, causing a loss to the state exchequer.

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam paid their last respects to DMK President M. Karunanidhi here on Wednesday.

People from different walks of life — leaders, actors, industrialists and others — also paid homage to their departed leader, whose mortal remains have been kept at the Rajaji Hall.

Purohit also had a few words with Karunanidhi’s son and DMK leader M.K. Stalin.

Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal, Minister for Fisheries D. Jayakumar, Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha M. Thambidurai and other party leaders also paid homage to Karunanidhi.

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth also paid his respects and consoled the family members of the DMK patriarch.

Chief Minister for five times and leader of DMK party for 50 years, the 94-year-old breathed his last owing to age-related ailments in a private hospital here on Tuesday evening.

His mortal remains was brought to the Rajaji Hall early on Wednesday after it was taken to his homes at Gopalapuram here and at CIT Colony for relatives and leaders to pay their last respects.

The veteran politician’s body is covered with the national flag.

On Tuesday Union Home Ministry in a statement said the Trocolour will fly half-mast on Wednesday as a mark of respect to the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.

“It has also been decided to accord state funeral to the departed soul. The funeral will take place in Chennai on Wednesday and the government of India will observe one-day state mourning throughout the country.

“There will be no official entertainment on the day,” the Home Ministry statement said.

Leaders of the DMK party have assembled at the Rajaji Hall. A large number of people have gathered outside to pay their last respects to the iconic leader.

Outside the hall, DMK party cadres are shouting “Marina Vendum, Marina Vendum “(want Marina) referring to the party’s request for burial site at Marina Beach here, which was turned down by the state government on Tuesday.

The matter has been taken up for hearing in the Madras High Court which will decide the issue on Wednesday morning.

“Can I call you Appa for one last time my leader,” DMK leader M.K. Stalin penned an emotional letter to his departed father and party leader M. Karunanidhi on Wednesday.

Chief Minister for five times and leader of DMK party for 50 years, the 94-year-old Karunanidhi breathed his last here owing to age related ailments in a private hospital here.

Stalin in his letter said: “Rather than calling you as Appa, Appa, I have called you as Thalaivaray, Thalaivaray (my leader) more number of times. Can I call you as Appa once Thalaivaray.”

Stalin asked his departed father Karunanidhi as to why he did not tell where he was going this time when his habit was always to inform his destination before starting out.

“Thirty three years back, you had said your grave should have the words… the person who had worked without rest is resting here. Have you departed with the satisfaction of having worked hard for the Tamil community,” Stalin added.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam paid their last respects to DMK President M. Karunanidhi at Rajaji Hall here on Wednesday morning.

They were accompanied by Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal, Minister for Fisheries D. Jayakumar, Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha M. Thambidurai and other party leaders.

Chief Minister for five times and leader of DMK party for 50 years, the 94-year-old Karunanidhi breathed his last here owing to age related ailments in a private hospital here.

The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted permission to bury late DMK President and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on the Marina Beach here after rejecting state government’s denial of DMK’s plea.

Acting Chief Justice Huluvadi G. Ramesh and Justice S.S. Sundar passed the order after hearing counsel for DMK and the government which said granting permission would violate environmental laws and rules on protection of Marina Beach.

DMK leader and lawyer Kannadasan told reporters that the court also asked the government to make arrangements for the burial.

As the news of the court’s decision broke out in Rajaji Hall where Karunanidhi’s body was lying in state, an emotional DMK Working President M.K. Stalin broke down only to be comforted by top party leaders Duraimurugan, A. Raja and others.

Former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, grand nephew of Karunanidhi and Kanimozhi, the former Chief Minister’s daughter, also gave Stalin an emotional hug on hearing the news.

A gunfight started on Wednesday between the army and the militants in the forest area of Rafiabad in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said.

Following specific information about militants, the army started a cordon and search operation. The hiding militants fired at the condoling forces triggering the encounter, a police source said.

The encounter is going on, the source said, adding that these militants could have infiltrated into the hinterland from across the Line of Control (LoC).