The draft of the proposed Right to Information Ordinance is full of contradictions and paradoxes. This is definitely disheartening. Panelists at a roundtable in the city on Saturday observed that if it comes out as a law it would never be able to ensure people’s right to information. They found the draft vague and full of unspecified terms. So they requested the authorities concerned either to define or omit such terms.  Access to information is a very important right of the people, the journalists in particular. Journalists need to know every thing and inform the people about that. But, it is surprising to note that right to information is not considered as a fundamental right in our country. Now the government is trying to enact a law on right to information that will benefit all the stakeholders—the government, the press and the people. Normally this type of proceedings should involve as many stakeholders as possible. But no journalists and other stakeholders were involved in the proceedings before drafting the law. Political parties were also not consulted about the draft. This may result in a one-sided law. A unilateral law will bring benefit to the government only. So it will lose its efficacy day by day. Still, we welcome the government’s initiative taken for the first time recognizing access to information as people’s right. Smooth flow of information is an urgent need in this age of information technology. Freedom of press is essentially needed for the development of democracy. We hope the proposed law will ensure that freedom and help strengthen our democracy. We would request all concerned to finalize the draft as soon as possible. Also necessary is the immediate enactment of the law. The government should not keep the journalists and the people deprived of access to information for long.