THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It has been alleged that the reply obtained from the office of the chief minister on RTI queries are all inappropriate. Clear answers were not obtained from the office of the chief minister on the questions of Govindan Namboodiri, an activist of the RTI. Of the 26 questions asked by Govindan, only half were answered. The answer to majority of the questions was to approach other departments.

The questions on how many foreign countries did the chief minister visit, the expenses of it, benefits from these were forwarded to the Department of Public Administration claiming that the answer is not obtained here. However, the Department of Public Administration too skipped the questions saying they don’t know about it. The answer for the questions on how much does it cost the CM to use social media, how many employees were appointed for it was to ask information and public relations department. When asked how much money was spent for the programme ‘Nam Munnettu’, the reply was the same. Most of the other questions were answered in the same manner.

When asked how many reports the administration reforms commission chaired by V S Achuthanandan obtained, what all steps were taken on it, the reply was to ask the public information officer. When asked the reason for shifting the DGP from the post, it is like asking for an explanation and that it is outside the purview of RTI was the reply of the public information officer of the chief minister’s office. According to the RTI Act, if questions are not available from the CM's office, it should be forwarded to the receiving office and informed to the applicant.