By Juwairia Mekhri

The stunning revelations that have come out by taking recourse to the Right to Information (RTI) Act has made the ordinary citizen feel empowered. On the other hand, it has made many government officials nervy.

The extent of their nervousness comes through when one uses the abbreviation they are mortally scared of – RTI. Confrontations with corrupt public sector officers get diffused the moment one utters it, reveal a few of our respondents. A complainant from Bhilwara (Rajasthan) refused to pay a bribe of Rs 500 demanded by a cop to complete the passport verification process. The respondent then casually mentioned the term RTI.

The constable’s tone changed from aggression to one of submission instantly. He even called our respondent `my little brother’! Another respondent from Madgaon (Goa) reveals how he has deployed this word in multiple instances to avoid paying a bribe. He would tactfully threaten to use his so-called influential links to nail the greedy officers http://ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/do-not-underestimate-power-rti-act.

May be, many of us can take a cue from them and start using the acronym when we want to get things done at no cost.