Which of the following statements is/are incorrect about the movement for the Right To Information in India?

(I) The RTI movement started in 1990 when a mass-based organisation called the Shetkari Sangathan in Rajasthan took the initiative in demanding records of famine relief work and accounts of labourers.

(II) In 1994 and 1996, the 'MKSS' organised Jan Sunwais or Public Hearings, where the administration was asked to explain its stand in public.

(III) In 1998 'SS' formed National Council for People’s Right to Information in Delhi to raise RTI to the status of a national campaign.

(IV) In 2004 RTI Bill was tabled and received presidential assent in June 2005.

Choose the correct answer from the given options:

I and III

The correct answer is Option 3 - I and III

The following are the incorrect statements:

(I) The RTI movement started in 1990 when a mass-based organisation called the Shetkari Sangathan in Rajasthan took the initiative in demanding records of famine relief work and accounts of labourers.

(III) In 1998 'SS' formed National Council for People’s Right to Information in Delhi to raise RTI to the status of a national campaign.

The movement for Right to Information (RTI) is one of the few recent examples of a movement that did succeed in getting the state to accept its major demand. The movement started in 1990, when a mass based organisation called the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan took the initiative in demanding records of famine relief work and accounts of labourers (Correct Statement I). The demand was first raised in Bhim Tehsil in a very backward region of Rajasthan. The villagers asserted their right to information by asking for copies of bills and vouchers and names of persons on the muster rolls who have been paid wages on the construction of schools, dispensaries, small dams and community centres. On paper such development projects were all completed, but it was common knowledge of the villagers that there was gross misappropriation of funds. In 1994 and 1996, the MKSS organised Jan Sunwais or Public Hearings, where the administration was asked to explain its stand in public (Statement II). The movement had a small success when they could force an amendment in the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act to permit the public to procure certified copies of documents held by the Panchayats. The Panchayats were also required to publish on a board and in newspapers the budget, accounts, expenditure, policies and beneficiaries. In 1996 MKSS formed National Council for People’s Right to Information in Delhi to raise RTI to the status of a national campaign (Correct Statement III). Prior to that, the Consumer Education and Research Center, the Press Council and the Shourie committee had proposed a draft RTI law. In 2002, a weak Freedom of Information Act was legislated but never came into force. In 2004 RTI Bill was tabled and received presidential assent in June 2005 (Statement IV).