Describe the journey of the movement of the Right to Information which ultimately culminated into an act.

The movement for the right to information is a recent example of a movement where government accepted its major demands.

The movement started in 1990, when MKSS demanded accounts of labourers and records of famine relief work. Villagers in Bhim Tehsil of Rajasthan asked for copies of bills and names of persons who have been paid for different construction projects.

The movement forced an amendment in the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act to permit the public to demand certified copies of documents held by the Panchayats.

In 1996, to make RTI a national campaign, national council for people’s right to information was formed in Delhi by MKSS. In 2002, a weak Freedom of information Act was legislated but never came into force, but in 2004 a new RTI Bill was drafted which received presidential consent in June 2005.