RTI activist Aruna Roy, who has been invited, said the Intelligence Bureau had run background checks on activists.
Several prominent activists have threatened to boycott
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inaugural address today at the annual Right to Information or RTI convention, as only ten of them have been invited for it.
Well-known activist Aruna Roy, who has been invited, said at a press conference on Thursday that the Intelligence Bureau or IB had run background checks on activists and many had not been invited for security reasons.
"It is severely restricted. The contribution of civil society has been appreciated by everyone," she said adding, "We do not understand why this Intelligence check was necessary. There have never been such measures before."
Ms Roy and the others invited for the PM's session have said they will boycott it in solidarity with those who did not receive an invitation.
"The Chief Information Commissioner reportedly wanted to invite more activists, but the government did not allow it. This is the government's interference in the CIC," the 69-year old activist alleged.
Rakesh Dubbudu, an RTI activist from Hyderabad who has not made the list, said IB officers had reached his parents' home and asked questions like what his parents do and what they think about the government. He said he has attended the convention since 2007 and had only now experienced an IB check.
But government sources said such verification is routinely done. They also said that invitations were restricted as the hall at Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan where the PM will make his address on Friday morning can accommodate only 1300 people and the government wants to ensure the participation of many sections of people involved with Right to Information.
"There is no discrimination against anyone," they said.
In past years, more than 200 RTI activists have attended the inaugural session of the annual event, usually addressed by the President or Prime Minister. This year, the meet celebrates the 10th anniversary of the RTI Act.
It was not held last year because the Chief Information Commissioner had retired and no one had been appointed in his place by then.