US Honours RTI Crusader Anjali Bhardwaj With Anti-Corruption Award

The United States has honoured Indian social activist and anti-graft crusader Anjali Bhardwaj with International Anti-Corruption Champions Award along with 11 others.

Bhardwaj was one of the key members of the 'Right to Information' movement in India for over two decades. She is also the founder of Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS), a citizens group dedicated to promote transparency and accountability in government and encourage the active participation of citizens.

"The Biden administration recognises that we will only be successful in combating these issues by working in concert with committed partners, including courageous individuals who champion anti-corruption efforts and countries working to fulfil their commitments to international anti-corruption standards," US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said on Tuesday. "For that reason, I am announcing a new International Anti-Corruption Champions Award, recognising individuals who have worked tirelessly, often in the face of adversity, to defend transparency, combat corruption, and ensure accountability in their own countries."

He added that US was the first to criminalise foreign bribery and in partnership with foreign counterparts. "We have recovered and returned more than $1 billion in stolen public assets in the past two years alone. We use a range of tools to promote accountability for corrupt individuals, combat impunity globally, and engage in multilateral fora to fight corruption and strengthen citizen engagement."

Bhardwaj in a tweet thanked the US administration for the honour. "It is a recognition of the collective effort of people and groups across the country who hold power to account." Together with Bhardwaj honorees for the award are from Albania, Ecuador, Guatemala, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine and other countries, Times of India reported.

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