To put this in the right context, Roy traced the journey traversed by the RTI Act right from its first dharna in 1996 to the present, in which at every step she acknowledged the important contribution made by members of the press who took the activists' battle to the front page of newspapers, thereby arming them with credibility as they took on the entire establishment in their endeavour to have the Act instituted. Citing instances of exemplary support lent to the movement by stalwarts like Kuldip Nayar and Nikhil Chakraborty, she said Prakash Kardaley belonged to this special breed of journalists.

Displaying a copy of a book released a few months ago, which was dedicated to Kardaley, she quoted him as saying how he always said that to him there was no difference between reporting on the Indian parliament and the Pune Municipal Corporation.

But perhaps the most apt description of the journalist's credo came from her when she quoted Kardaley as saying, "People say journalists should know all the politicians and bureaucrats but I can proudly say that I also know the common man and his issues."

Roy concluded her talk by saying that she hopes scribes in the city would create a memorial for Kardaley — not one made of bricks and cement but one that would help in strengthening the RTI movement.

Chief information commissioner Vijay Kuvalekar highlighted how Kardaley had taken the next crucial step in RTI during his last days, which dealt with how to use the information that one had started getting through this act use in an effective manner.