Stamp out terrorism, appeals Dr. JP

Lok Satta Party's National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) said today that terrorism had to be uprooted ruthlessly to protect society and civilization. In a statement, Dr. JP described terrorists, who took the lives of innocent people through bomb blasts in Hyderabad, as cowards.

"No religion sanctions terrorism although its perpetrators invoke religion for their acts. Terrorists are essentially barbaric people who have nothing but hatred for mankind and all values of civilization."

Dr. JP said blaming the police and Intelligence agencies for failure to prevent terrorist attacks was unwarranted. Even if Intelligence had information about likely terrorist attacks, they would not know when and where they would strike.

In times of crisis, people, political parties and the Government should stand united and do nothing to disrupt normal life. Calls for 'rasta rokos' 'bandhs' would merely serve the cause of terrorists, who were bent on destabilizing the country.

Dr. JP said that Governments in their bid to stamp out terrorism should not abridge people's fundamental rights. China could do without terrorism because it had a totalitarian system. "The need of the hour is striking a fine balance between national security and civil rights".

Dr. JP underlined the need for police reforms to ensure that the personnel were productively utilized. While thousands of police personnel were deployed as gunmen, intelligence personnel were used to serve the interests of the ruling party. Dr. JP in the morning called on the blast victims undergoing treatment in hospitals. Eleven Lok Satta volunteers donated blood to Chiranjivi Blood Bank for the benifit of victims.

Lok Satta to enroll 15 lakh members by December 2007: Dr. JP

The Lok Satta Party has decided to enroll at least 15 lakh members by December-end by launching a vigorous campaign throughout the State.

Disclosing this at a media conference at the end of the two-day conference of the organizational wings of the party, Lok Satta Party’s National Coordinator Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan (Dr. JP) said the people were thirsting for alternative politics. By voting for the two traditional parties alternately, they realized that were merely choosing between the fire and frying pan. The Lok Satta would be guilty of letting them down if it did not provide an alternative that liberates them from the traditional parties and politics of corruption. The Lok Satta Party aimed at having a unit in every village and 1000 to 2000 members in every mandal, a majority of them youth and women. The Lok Satta Party would thereafter hold party elections under the watchful eye of a three-member Ombudsman. The party had divided the State into eight zones and appointed zonal coordinators for the membership campaign and party elections.

On the claims of Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Mr. N. Tulasi Reddy, Congress Party spokesman, that there were no belt shops in the State, Dr. JP told them that they should have been aware of belt shops at least in their mandals if not the entire State. “There may be mandals without schools or villages without drinking water but there is not a single mandal in the entire State where there are no belt shops”. Dr. JP pointed out that Lok Satta and Mahila Satta volunteers had already furnished the Chief Minister with a list of 2000 shops in the State. According to the party’s estimate, there are 50,000 belt shops, besides 25000 gudumba and country liquor shops. “But we have a
Government that neither sees nor hears”.

Dr. JP said he would not be surprised if the Government chose to legalize belt shops unable to counter the Lok Satta campaign. In fact, the Congress MLA of Sattenapalli led a procession against belt shops in his constituency the other day.

Dr. JP welcomed the Prime Minister Manmohan’s Independence Day speech in which he focused on giving a thrust to higher and vocational education. “The Prime Minister is a man of sincerity and integrity. But unfortunately the responsibility of implementing laudable schemes rests with States. Thousands of crores of rupees meant for education and health care have gone down the drain because the State leadership has neither the will nor the machinery to implement the schemes. Industrial training institutes, for which the poor sent their children to learn a trade, did not have equipment to train them, said Dr.JP.

Citizen arrests to shut down belt shops

Please click on the link below
http://www.loksatta.org/englishsite/pr/2007/citizen-arrests-belt.pdf

Camaign against irregularities in Ration Shops

Every month, 467 kilo liters of kerosene and 2000 metric tons of rice are being declared as unused surplus in the city even as poor families complain they are being deprived of their entitlements from fair price shops. Eleven lakh families in the city of Hyderabad are dependent on fair price shops for their sustenance.

This cruel paradox has come to light in a study conducted by the Greater Hyderabad unit of the Lok Satta Party in the last one week. Lok Satta volunteers gathered the opinion of 79 fair price shop dealers and customers served by them in Greater Hyderabad.

The principal complaint of white cardholders is they are being given only five liters of kerosene against 10 liters they are entitled to. Cardholders are often compelled to pay well above the official price of Rs. 9.50 per litre. In many cases, the 10 litre coupon is accepted by the dealer, but only 5 litres are issued. In fact, their entitlement has been reduced over the years from 18 liters to 10 liters per month. This huge shortfall is putting them under enormous financial burden.

Poor people are also put to great hardship because of the dealers' insistence on their lifting the entire quota of 10 liters of kerosene and 20 kgs of rice at one go.

The users of fair shops are people who experience regular and consistent financial stress. Therefore, it is imprudent to assume that they can pay for all commodities at one time. Cardholders should be given coupons that facilitate purchase of commodities in small quantities and in installments.

Another finding of the survey is that fair shops do not adhere to the stipulated time schedules - 8 AM to 12 Noon and 4 PM to 8 PM - making it difficult for cardholders to access them at convenient times. While the poor complain that they are not receiving their basic entitlements from fair price shops, large quantities of kerosene and rice are going unutilized.

The Lok Satta Party survey has revealed that elected local government representatives - municipal corporators - have very little control over the functioning of fair price shops. Mr. Ankaiah demands that ward committees be constituted and empowered to oversee the functioning of the fair price shops within their ward. There is also need to constitute a stakeholders' committee for each fair shop with local users, members of local civil society, local youth and women groups as members. Such stakeholder empowerment will go a long way in improving the functioning of fair price shops.

Lok Satta Party calls upon local youth to become volunteers to monitor and improve the functioning of the fair price shops. The volunteers will be trained and given logistic support by Lok Satta Party to help improve distribution of essential commodities to poor households. Volunteers may please contact 040 - 2323 1818 / 2323 2829.

Lok Satta condemns Mudigonda violence

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, National Coordinator of the Lok Satta Party, today appealed to all political parties and Governments to introspect whether violence and counter-violence were warranted in a 60-year-old democracy. Failure to arrive at solutions through peaceful and constructive means merely mirrored the deep democratic crisis the country faced and exposed our inability to resolve problems peacefully, he told a meeting organized by the party.

He made the observations in the context of the police firing at Mudigonda in Khammam district in which eight CPI(M) activists were killed.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan decried that governments, whichever party is in power, and political parties are perpetuating a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence. Brutal lathicharge and extreme use of force and firing resulting in deaths of innocent and poor citizens has become all too common. Equally, civil society movements and parties are resorting to extreme tactics to provoke people and invite repression. Lives of innocent people are lost all too often. Political calculations, not human decency have become the norm. Political parties and Governments should ponder whether action and reaction reminiscent of colonial rule were warranted in a democratic society.

He was addressing a conference titled "Ration - Pareshan" organized by the Lok Satta to highlight how poor families were undergoing hardship because of their inability to draw the 10 liters of kerosene and 20 kgs of rice they are entitled to every month. The Government spent Rs.3000 crore of taxpayers' money on subsidized supply of rice and kerosene to white cardholders. Although laws, rules and regulations were clear and widespread government machinery was in place, it could not render justice to the poor.

He commended Lok Satta volunteers for trying to find a peaceful solution to the chronic problem of rations through citizen assertion constructive means. This is the meaning of new politics fit for a constitutional democracy. Resort to violence itself is a symptom of failure of our democracy, he added.

"If a young man or woman adopts a ration shop in his or her area and spends an hour or two a week monitoring the fair shop functioning, things would improve. Lok Satta Party would train these volunteers and give them the information to monitor shops, mobilize citizens and ensure implementation of rules. If that fails, they should represent the problem to officials. The Lok Satta Party would provide all support. Fair shop dealers too had their problems. They lifted Government allotted stocks by borrowing money on interest while their margins were low. The Government could consider permitting them to lift stocks on credit and provide a solution.

Mr. B. Ankaiah, Convener, Greater Hyderabad Lok Satta Unit, Mrs. D. Lakshmi, Mahila Satta Convener and Mr. G. Rama Murthy, senior party leader, took part in the conference in which many representatives from different parts of the city voiced their distress and anger over their plight.

Mahila Satta identifies belt shops, seeks their closure

Please click on the link below

http://www.loksattaparty.com/english_site/pr_beltshops_25Jul2007.pdf

Tremendous Response to Lok Satta Primaries

The Lok Satta Party's policy of asking voters to choose its candidates for by-elections to ZPTCs and MPTCs in the State has elicited tremendous response.

The party deliberately opted for candidate selection by people through secret ballot as part of its policy to make politics people-centred, instead of being politician-centred.

This marks a radical departure from established parties' culture of choosing candidates based on their money power or muscle power or pedigree. The Satta has, in fact, challenged other parties to contest elections without recourse to purchase of votes or distribution of liquor.
The party has so far chosen its candidates to contest two ZPTC and 10 MPTC seats through primary elections. The by-elections are scheduled to take place on July 12.

According to Mr. D. V. V. S. Varma, Secretary, Lok Satta Party, the people's response to primaries would have been far greater had there been more time between the announcement of by-elections and the filing of nominations. There was a gap of just one day, as per the election schedule.

Ungutur in West Godavari district where an election is taking place for the ZPTC stands as a shining example of new politics at work. The Lok Satta short-listed three candidates and appealed to voters to choose the best one to represent them. All the candidates travelled in one vehicle and appealed for votes in one pamphlet as they toured villages in the constituency.

Of the 45000 registered voters, 9095 took part in the primary election. Mr. Potla John Raju, who polled 5260 votes, was declared the party candidate.

Similarly, 300 to 600 voters took part in the Lok Satta MPTC primaries held in different parts of the State to choose its candidates.

Mr. D. V. V. S. Varma said in a statement that the primaries demonstrated people's contempt for the traditional parties' culture of foisting candidates selected in secret conclaves.

Mr. Varma congratulated the voters on embracing Lok Satta Party's new political culture.

Lok Satta demands liquor shops along highways be shut down

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Lok Satta Party's National Coordinator, has demanded that liquor shops along highways be shut down immediately.
While welcoming the Government move to prevent accidents by punishing drunken driving, Dr. Jayaprakash pointed out that liquor shops had been opened along highways merely to cater to vehicle users and remained open day and night. The Government claim that it would prevent drunken driving even as it facilitated drinking along highways was akin to putting the cart before the horse.

In a letter to Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the Lok Satta leader also demanded that the Government close down illegal belt shops being run by licensed liquor dealers. The belt shops, unofficially estimated to number more than a lakh, were to be found in every village, ward and lane. "It is incredible that the shops can function without the knowledge of the Excise and Police Departments". Asserting that the belt shops were being run with the full knowledge and support of the Government, Dr. Jayaprakash added that otherwise they could not function even for a day. He wanted the Government to put an end to the practice of increasing its excise revenue by encouraging belt shops.

Dr. Jayaprakash pointed that nothing could be more atrocious than viewing liquor as a chief source of revenue for the Government. The liquor addition had already ruined 50 lakh families in the State as liquor flowed freely. He wanted the Government to restrict liquor consumption since total prohibition was a practical failure.

The Lok Satta ridiculed the Government claim that the State had witnessed a decline in the number of shops pointing out that the outlets had proliferated hundreds of more times than licensed shops in the shape of belt shops. Government statistics testified to the increase in sales year after year. While the previous Government turned liquor a source of revenue and facilitated belt shops, the present Government not only continued the policy but also doubled and trebled its revenues from liquor.

He wanted the Government to disclose the programmes and activities it had taken up to launch a campaign against drinking by utilizing ten per cent of excise revenue as promised. He wanted the Government to totally ban 'gudumba' and country liquor, and public drinking at liquor shops and launch a strong campaign against the drinking evil.

The Lok Satta, he informed the Chief Minister, would take up direct action from October 2 if belt shops were not closed by then. Meanwhile, it would collect information about belt shops and communicate it to the Government. The women's wing of the party would launch a Statewide campaign against drinking from August 15.

Demand for devolution of powers

Please click on the link below

http://www.loksattaparty.com/english_site/devolution.jpg

Dr. Jayaprakash Calls for Justice to Telangana

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, National Coordinator of the Lok Satta Party, today demanded that constitutional status be provided to regional development boards, the 610 GO be implemented in letter and spirit and that the next river water tribunal go into disparities in water allocation within different regions of the State. These issues should be sorted out whether Telanagana was going to be formed or not.

Addressing a media meet, Dr. Jayaprakash pointed out that regional development boards recently constituted did not enjoy any constitutional status of Article 371D of the Constitution. The Constitution should be amended to provide them constitutional status, powers and resources. In fact, the Telangana Regional Development Board could be entrusted with the implementation of Government Order No. 610.

Dr. Jayaprakash pointed out that neither the Congress nor the Telugu Desam Government had the political will to implement the G.O. issued as early as in 1985. The Congress was in power between 1989 and 1994 and again since 2004 while the Telugu Desam was in power during the other periods. The GO involved the repatriation of just 28000 of the 9.5 lakh Government employees from Telangana to Andhra.

Referring to regional disputes on the sharing of the Krishna and the Godavari river waters, Dr. Jayaprakash said the next river waters tribunal should go into allocation of waters among different regions within the State. Thanks to Sir Arthur Cotton, some coastal Andhra districts had benefited while Telangana and Rayalaseema did not get adequate waters. The Godavari and the Krishna should be treated as one basin since the Krishna waters cannot be diverted to the Rayalaseema region unless the Godavari waters are diverted into the Krishna basin downstream.

Dr. Jayaprakash called for a national debate on caste-based reservations in the context of the raging disputes between Malas and Madigas in Andhra Pradesh and Gujjars and Meenas in Rajasthan. Treating castes as vote banks, most political parties were indulging in cynical and manipulative games. He made it clear that the Lok Satta was totally in favour of reservations so long as birth-based discrimination continued. He, however, wanted the reservation system to be refined. Any scientific system should give weightage to factors like caste, economic status, parents' educational status, rural or urban background, education in Government or private school and medium of instruction.

On Special Economic Zones, Dr. Jayaprakash said that they should not be constituted in agriculturally prosperous land except in rare circumstances. He suggested that farmers be paid more than market rates for their lands and be given one acre of developed land for every two acres acquired for them. This can be done if more land than is required for an SEZ is acquired

simple system of local courts can give easy access to justice

Please click on the link below
http://www.loksattaparty.com/english_site/enyayapanchayats.pdf

Don't lose your right to vote - Lok Satta appeals to Hyderabadis

The Lok Satta Party has decided to undertake a sample survey of voters in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and help people enroll themselves as voters.

This was decided at a meeting of the volunteers of the Greater Hyderabad unit of the party today.

Mr. Bhandaru Ankaiah,in -charge of the Greater Hyderabad unit of the Party said the electoral rolls were available at all major delivery post offices, muncipal offices and polling stations. The party volunteers during sample survey, will help new voters enroll themselves by filling in Form 6.

In a statement, Mr. Ankaiah said people should avail themselves of the opportunity to enroll themselves as voters if their names were not found in the lists. The opportunity would be open until June 5.

By taking part in the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the voters could choose leaders who would make Greater Hyderabad a better Hyderabad.

Lok Satta's agenda a great hit, says Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan

Please click on the link below
http://www.loksattaparty.com/english_site/hit.pdf

The Public Meeting

The public meeting on October 15 was an unqualified success. The participation was impressive – about 20,000 people from all walks of life from all over Andhra Pradesh attended the meeting. This is the first political meeting, of this magnitude, in decades, where people attended without inducements, and participated fully and enthusiastically. Not one member of the audience left until the proceedings concluded at 8:15 PM. Most television channels covered the event live, and about ten million viewers would have watched it. The major regional newspapers grasped the significance of the event and covered it prominently. There were no people seated on the dais, except the speaker at any point of time. Young persons, women, and those who suffered discrimination by birth dominated the proceedings. Most participants were young people, poor, self-employed persons, and middle-classes. Messages were interspersed by cultural events. An amount of Rs 2,08,000/- was raised by way of small, on the spot contributions.

A sample of the media coverage of the event can be accessed at http://www.loksattaparty.com/english_site/media.html. The audiovisual recording of the Party Coordinator’s speech too can be accessed at this URL. The proceedings of the entire event along with the speech of the Party Coordinator will be soon available for sale, in a CD/DVD format. Please visit www.loksattaparty.com for latest updates.

Lok Satta Party’s principles are enshrined in the Preamble to the Party Constitution, and Article II lists the Aims and Objectives. The circumstances which compelled us to take this important step are outlined in the Resolution adopted to form Lok Satta Party. The Party’s Constitution reflects the values of internal democracy, total transparency and member-control.

Apart from the Party’s agenda and vision, there are seven important measures institutionalized in the Party’s structure and functioning, which make it the harbinger of ‘new politics for the new generation’:

• Election of leadership at all levels by secret ballot, through single, transferable vote based on preferential voting. The Coordinator, the chief functionary at each level, is elected directly by all active members of the Party through secret ballot.

• A system of ‘recall’ of all office bearers is institutionalized in the Party Constitution and Rules and Regulations.

• All Party candidates for elective office will be chosen by active members in primary elections through secret ballot. There will be affirmative action policies to promote leadership of women, youth, backward classes and minorities, apart form the constitutional reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Subject to that caveat, the Party leadership can only exercise veto over candidates elected in primary election for specified reasons; but no candidate can be imposed on the Party.

• An autonomous Electoral Authority is constituted in the party to act as the custodian of membership rolls, and to conduct all elections within the Party.

• An autonomous Disciplinary Authority is constituted, with the responsibility to investigate and act on specific complaints of criminality, corruption, abuse of office, or moral turpitude.

• All funds shall be collected only in a transparent manner by cheque (except small local contributions), and with a receipt. All expenditure shall be only for legitimate purposes, and by cheque. Membership dues and small contributions are expected to constitute the bulk of the Party resources.

• The Party activities will be primarily centered around its agenda. The traditional political methods of obstructionism and agitation will be eschewed.

It goes without saying that we are nurturing new politics as a moral endeavour, not merely forming yet another political party. Our definition of victory is not merely getting into office, but heralding a new political culture and transforming the nature of governance, whether we are in power or out of it. Therefore means and ends are both critical and integrally linked. Power is merely a means, though it is our recognition that we need to be in politics to transform it which led to the formation of the Party. We are staying away from the traditional invective, populism, knee-jerk responses, intolerant attitudes, tokenism and emotionalism. Reasoned public debate, transparent decision making, informed citizen assertion, peaceful and honest reconciliation of conflicting views, and liberal, creative, humane and win-win responses are the means we apply for political mobilization.

One question often raised is, will we succeed? The more apt question is, are Indian people happy with our current politics and governance? We have no doubt that the vast majority of Indians is deeply desirous of a fundamental change in the nature of our politics and the way government functions. Therefore, we will not fail.

However, it needs a lot of patience, hard work, organization-building, and public education.This is a national endeavour. As the Party’s founding resolution states: “Lok Satta Party’s goals are national, and unity and integrity of India are of paramount concern to all of us. The new Party’s concerns will transcend religion, region, caste and language. Lok Satta Party will work with like-minded individuals and groups in all regions and states to build a nation-wide movement for a new political culture.” It is our recognition of the vastness and complexity of India, and our own limitations which compel us to focus on Andhra Pradesh for the time being. Once Lok Satta Party demonstrates that a sizeable population is in support of new politics, the conditions for a nation-wide political movement will have been created.We, therefore urge all Indians, wherever they are, to own this effort and extend all support. Formal political participation will, of course, be limited to Indian Citizens. Others can certainly provide intellectual inputs and moral support, and spread the good word. Similarly, funds can be raised only from Indian sources. Indian citizens, wherever they live, can make financial contributions. All contributions are fully tax-exempt (to the donor) under Indian Law. Indian citizens living abroad can contribute, but will get tax exemption only on Indian income. Non-resident Indians should also declare that their contribution is made from their own resources, and is not raised from foreign sources. All contributions will be acknowledged, and tax exemption documents will be furnished to them. All accounts of Lok Satta Party will be audited, and reports shall be made public.

The website ' www.loksattaparty.com ' is now in operation. It is being substantially revised to make it current, interactive and comprehensive. The site will soon have a suitable ‘online payment gateway’ to enable easy and safe donations online. Contributions may be made by Indian Citizens by cheque to ‘Lok Satta Party’, payable at Hyderabad. Non-resident Indians who wish to contribute may please wait for a short while until the mechanism is created for that purpose.There are over 800 registered political parties in India. But the creation of a serious political party with credibility and reasonable public support is a rare event. Rarer still is success of such a party in electoral terms. Rarest is significant outcome in terms of transforming politics, enlarging liberty, and promoting human happiness. Lok Satta Party is determined to make a difference in outcomes, and transform our politics. The task is too big for any group in isolation. We need your support – intellectual, moral, material, and financial to make this a truly successful endeavour. The bulk of our people yearn for a change. All we have to do is create a credible, effective and democratic platform. We will surely succeed.

With warm regards,

Jayaprakash Narayan
National Coordinator
LOK SATTA PARTY
posted by JP 10:27 AM

Comments:

siva reddy said...
Dear Loksatta,

I am just wondering about membership drive and media coverage. How is it going on?
Because I cannot see any news about Loksatta in the media.

Is Loksatta neglecting the media or the media neglecting Loksatta? I am just thinking aloud.
December 19, 2006

LOK SATTA PARTY said...
Dear Mr.Siva Reddy,
It is good to hear from you.We are pleased to say that the membership drive is on, full steam! It has drawn excellent response and we are happy with the results.

As far as media coverage goes, we have absolutely no complaints, whatsoever!

Media coverage is important and whenever we feel the need for more publicity we will definitely do the needful.

Thank you and do keep in touch.

With warm wishes

Lok Satta Party
December 19, 2006

Anonymous said...
can we expect something from you to stop this and punish who are involved and supporting?
December 21, 2006

Passion said...
85% of people in India are desperate working slaves in an informal economy and their lives oscillate between fear and frustration.
http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/dec/01guest3.htm

The remaining well to do High Net Worth people in India are always in search of collusion mostly in the form of caste to enhance their wealth.

A credible minimum income guaranteed system for every one whether they work or not will bring in dignity instead of desperation for the working poor and inheritance taxes will stimulate compassion instead of collusion.

Such system will prevent all socioeconomic issues in India viz farmer suicides, dowry deaths, child labor, corruption, bribery, etc.

I request Lok Satta to include "minimum income guaranteed system" in its manifesto.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Guaranteed_minimum_income#India

ijawahar@gmail.comDecember 30, 2006

Office of Profit

The Constitution makers quite rightly wanted legislative office to be insulated from executive influence and manipulation.

Constitutional theory envisages that the elected legislature exercises oversight functions over the government. The making of laws, approval of the budget, and monitoring of all government actions are within the purview of the legislature. The executive branch of government should implement the laws, utilize the public money for the approved purposes, and be accountable to the legislature in its functioning. Therefore, if the legislators are beholden to the executive, the legislature can no longer retain its independence, and loses the ability to control the Council of Ministers and the army of officials and public servants. From this perspective, the Constitutional embargo on office of profit for legislators is both necessary and welcome.

But in India, both the Constitutional model of government and its actual practice in operation have completely reversed this logic. We accepted the Westminster model because of familiarity and historical association. In this model, the executive (Council of Ministers) is drawn from the legislature. While in theory, the legislature holds the government to account, in reality the government controls the legislature as long it has a majority in the House. The key issue for the government’s survival is sustaining its majority. Much of the struggle for power, compromise on cabinet composition, and patronage are linked to this need to satisfy the majority of legislators. This is the reason why the size of Council of Ministers became unwieldy over the decades. At last, the 91st Amendment to the Constitution enacted in 2003 limited the size of Council of Ministers to 15% of the Lower House. Chairmanships of Corporations, Parliamentary Secretaryships of various ministries, and other offices of profit are often inducements to legislators to satisfy their aspirations for rank, status and privilege, and a way of buying peace for the government. This is undoubtedly a perversion of the theory of separation of powers. But as long as such perversion is integral to our model of democracy, it would be very inadequate if we limited this discussion only to technical and legal issues relating to office of profit.

Constitutionally, a person cannot be a Minister unless he is an MP/MLA. Even if a non-MP/MLA is made a Minister, he must become an MP/MLA within six months. Given this, executive and legislature are fused in our system. But in countries like Britain and Germany, such fusion is not leading to corruption or patronage. That is because a political culture has been evolved, in which public office is a means for promoting social good, and not for private or family again. In our culture, public office is an extension of one’s property. That is why public office is a source of huge corruption and extortion, and is also often a heritable family property. And extending patronage to one’s friends and relations comes naturally with public office.

Given this propensity to abuse office, and the compulsions under which any government functions, we need to reexamine the definition of office of profit. Articles 102 and 191 of the Constitution relating to office have profit have been violated in spirit over the years, even when the letter is adhered to. As a result, the Legislatures kept on expanding the list of exemptions from disqualification under Articles 102 and 191. For instance, the Act 10 of 1959 listed scores of offices in the exemptions from disqualification under Article 102. There does not appear to be a clear rationale for such a list, except the expediency to protect holders of certain offices from time to time. Similar laws have been enacted by state Legislatures under Article 191, exempting hundreds of offices from disqualification for state legislature. Each time a legislator is appointed by the executive to an office which might be classified an office of profit, a law is enacted including such an office in the list of exempted categories.

Often, the crude criterion applied is whether or not the office carries a remuneration. In the process, the real distinction of whether executive authority is exercised in terms of decision making or direct involvement in deployment of public funds is often lost sight of. The Supreme Court’s clarification about the appointment and removal being in the hands of the executive branch of government does not help either, because many appointments made may be in advisory capacities.

Nor do the existing norms apply to Local Area Development Schemes under which legislators are empowered to sanction public works and authorize expenditure of funds granted under MPLADs and MLALADs schemes. These schemes continue, despite the prevalence of corruption in allotting public works under these schemes. Several party leaders and legislators feel the need for discretionary public funds at their disposal in order to quickly execute public works to satisfy the needs of their constituencies. However, these schemes do seriously erode the notion of separation of powers, as the legislator directly becomes the executive. The argument advanced that legislators do not directly handle public funds under these schemes, as they are under the control of the District Magistrate is flawed. In fact, no Minister directly handles public money. Even the officials do not personally handle cash, except the treasury officials and disbursing officers. Making decisions on expenditure is clearly a key executive function, no matter who physically handles money.

Therefore it seems necessary to sharply define office of profit to ensure clearer separation of powers. Legislators who are not Ministers often do have significant expertise from their own personal or professional background. In addition, their experience in public service gives them unique insights and understanding of public policy. Such expertise and insights would be valuable inputs to the executive in policy making. Therefore Committees and Commissions of a purely advisory nature can be constituted with legislators. The mere fact of such positions carrying certain remuneration and other perks does not make them executive offices. The Constitution recognized that holding of such offices in expert and advisory bodies does not violate separation of powers, and left it to Parliament and State Legislatures to exempt such non-executive offices from disqualification. But appointment in statutory or non-statutory executive authorities with direct decision making powers and day to day control of field personnel, or positions on the governing boards of public sector undertakings or as government nominees in private enterprises clearly carry direct executive responsibilities and involve decision making powers. Such appointments would undoubtedly violate separation of powers. Giving discretionary powers to legislators to sanction or approve public works is clearly an exercise of executive function, whether or not the government appoints the legislators to a designated office. It is necessary to sharply distinguish executive functions and exercise of executive authority while defining office of profit, irrespective of whether such a role or office carries a remuneration and perks.

Given these circumstances, it would be appropriate to amend the law on the following lines:

All offices in purely Advisory bodies where the experience and insights of a legislator would be inputs in governmental policy will not be treated as offices of profit, irrespective of the remuneration and perks associated with such an office.

All offices involving executive decision making and control of public funds, including positions on the governing boards of public undertakings and statutory and non-statutory authorities directly deciding policy or managing institutions or authorizing or approving expenditure shall be treated as offices of profit, and no legislator shall hold such offices.

If a serving minister, by virtue of office, is a member or head of certain organizations like Planning Commission, where close coordination and integration between the Council of Ministers and the organization or authority or committee is vital for the day-to-day functioning of government, it shall not be treated as office of profit.

Discretionary funds at the disposal of legislators or the power to determine specific projects and schemes, or select the beneficiaries or authorize expenditure shall constitute discharge of executive functions and will invite disqualification under Articles 102 and 191, irrespective of whether or not a new office is notified and held.

***

Lok Pal and the Prime Minister

One issue which has been debated for long is whether the office of Prime Minister should be brought under the jurisdiction of Lok Pal.

Those who believe that the Prime Minister’s conduct should be scrutinized by Lok Pal rightly argue that all public servants should be accountable. In a democracy, the citizen is the sovereign, and every public servant holds office to serve the citizens, spending tax money and exercising authority under the laws made on citizens’ behalf or under the Constitution which we, the people, gave unto ourselves. Therefore, no functionary, however high, should be exempt from scrutiny by Lok Pal.

In constitutional theory, in the Westminster model, the Prime Minister is the first among equals in a Council of Ministers exercising collective responsibility. Therefore, whatever rules apply to other Ministers should apply to the prime Minister as well.

However, there are deeper issues that need to be examined carefully. While the Prime Minister’s office was merely the first among equals in conception, over time the Prime Minister became the leader of the executive branch of government. The Cabinet accepts collective responsibility once decisions are made. That is why all policy debates are customarily within the Council of Ministers away from public gaze, and Ministers are not free to express their reservations or differences of opinion in public. It is the function of the Prime Minister to lead and to coordinate in framing of policies, decision making and execution of those policies and decisions. The Prime Minister’s unchallenged authority and leadership are critical to ensure cohesion and a sense of purpose in government, and to make our Constitutional scheme function in letter and in spirit. The Prime Minister is accountable to the Parliament, and on his survival depends the survival of the government. If the prime Minister’s conduct is open to formal scrutiny by extra-Parliamentary authorities, then the government’s viability is eroded and Parliament’s supremacy is in jeopardy.

In our Constitutional scheme of things, the Prime Minister is appointed on the basis of the President’s judgment of his commanding majority support in Parliament. All Ministers are then appointed only on the advice of the Prime Minister. The President cannot ordinarily dismiss the Prime Minister as long as he enjoys the majority support in the House of the People. But other Ministers are removed by the President at any time on the advice of the Prime Minister. No reasons are required to be given by the Prime Minister for removal of such Ministers. Integrity and competence of the Ministers are not sufficient conditions to continue in office. They must enjoy the confidence of the Prime Minister in order to hold office as Ministers. This scheme has been deliberately introduced in our Constitution to preserve the authority of the Prime Minister, and to ensure cohesion and coordination in the functioning of government. Any enquiry into a Prime Minister’s official conduct by any authority other than the Parliament would severely undermine the Prime Minister’s capacity to lead the government. Such weakening of Prime Minister’s authority would surely lead to serious failure of governance and lack of harmony and coordination, and would severely undermine public interest.

Those who argue that the Prime Minister is like any other Member of Parliament or any other minister are only technically correct. In reality, in all countries following the Parliamentary executive model drawing the Cabinet from the legislature, the Prime Minister became the leader of the country and government. The authority of the Prime Minister, as long as he enjoys Parliamentary support, has become synonymous with the nation’s dignity and prestige. A Prime Minister facing formal enquiry by a Lok Pal would cripple the government. One can argue that such an enquiry gives the opportunity to the incumbent to defend himself against baseless charges and clear his name. But the fact is, once there is a formal enquiry by a Lok Pal on charges, however baseless they are, the Prime Minister’s authority is severely eroded, and the government will be paralysed. Subsequent exoneration of the Prime Minister cannot undo the damage done to the country or to the office of the Prime Minister. If the Prime Minister is indeed guilty of serious indiscretions, the Parliament should be the judge of the matter, and the Lok Sabha should remove the Prime Minister from office.

No lengthy enquiry or impeachment is therefore contemplated in our scheme of things, and a mere passing of no-confidence motion without assigning reasons is sufficient to change government. In the directly elected executive model of government, the Parliament cannot remove the President who is the chief executive, and therefore a complex process of impeachment and an enquiry by Special Prosecutors to precede such an impeachment have become necessary.

It could be argued that since any minister could be removed on the Prime Minister’s advice, or Parliament’s as well, Lok Pal need not have jurisdiction on a Minister’s conduct also. But Parliament does not really sit in judgment of a Minister’s conduct. It is the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers as a whole whose fate is determined by Parliament’s will. And the Prime Minister does not have the time or energy to personally investigate the conduct of a Minister. The government’s investigative agencies are controlled or influenced by the Ministers, and therefore it is hard for the Prime Minister to get objective assessment of the Ministers official conduct. Therefore, an independent, impartial body of high standing would be of great value in enforcing high standards of ethical conduct among Ministers.

A similar reasoning applies to members of Parliament, since Parliament’s time and energy cannot be consumed by detailed enquiry into the conduct of a Member. But the final decision of removing the Member must vest in Parliament, and that of removal of a Minister must be on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Parliament is responsible to the nation for its decisions, and the Prime Minister is responsible to the Parliament for his decisions. These responsibilities of Parliament and Prime Minister cannot be transferred to any unelected body.

Finally, while the Prime Minister is yet another member of Parliament in Constitutional theory, political evolution transformed him into the leader of the nation. Theoretically, each member of the legislature is elected by his constituents in our model of government. But over the past century, elections even in parliamentary system have become plebiscitary in nature. Most often, the Prime Minister’s personality, vision, and leadership are the issues which determine the electoral outcomes. Similarly, the opposition focuses its energies and hopes on its leader. The electoral contest is transformed into a test of acceptability of the leaders. The constituency contests have thus become increasingly dependent on the larger question of whose governmental leadership people trust or seek at that point of time.

Given this overwhelming political reality, it would be extremely unwise to subject the Prime Minister’s office to a prolonged public enquiry by any unelected functionary. The Parliament is the best forum we can trust to enforce integrity in the office of Prime Minister.

***

Ethics – A New Class of Offences

The criminal law relating to corruption is limited in scope. The prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for instance, lists offences of corruption and the penalties from Sections 7 to 15. These offences broadly cover acceptance of illegal gratification as a motive or reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act, or favouring or disfavouring any person; obtaining a valuable thing without consideration or inadequate consideration; and criminal misconduct involving receiving gratification, misappropriation, obtaining any pecuniary advantage to any person without any public interest, or being in possession of pecuniary resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income. Attempts to commit such offences and abetment are also listed as offences, in keeping with the principles usually applied in the criminal law of the land. The accent is thus on consideration, gratification of all kinds and pecuniary advantage.

However, experience of the past decades shows that such a definition of corrupt practices is somewhat restrictive, and a whole range of official conduct detrimental to public interest is not covered by strong penal provisions. In particular there are four types of official conduct which cause immense damage to public interest, which do not explicitly constitute violation of criminal law.

The first and possibly the most important of these is gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions, amounting to willful violation of the oath of office. High Constitutional functionaries have time and again been found to have indulged in such constitutional perversion out of partisan considerations or personal pique. In most such cases, there may be neither illegal consideration nor pecuniary advantage, nor any form of gratification involved. In some of those cases, the Supreme Court held individuals holding high office guilty of gross misconduct amounting to perversion of the Constitution. In such cases, except public opinion, political pressure and dictates of the conscience of the individual, there are no legal provisions to punish the perpetrators.

The second such class of offences is abuse of authority unduly favouring or harming someone, without any pecuniary consideration or gratification. In such cases, often partisan interests, nepotism and personal prejudices play a role, though no corruption is involved in the restrictive, ‘legal’ sense of the term. Nevertheless, the damage done by such willful acts or denial of one’s due by criminal neglect have profound consequences to society, and undermine the very framework of ethical governance and rule of law. Again, except a possible, but rare, departmental action, no crime is committed in most such cases under the current definition of corruption.

Third, obstruction or perversion of justice by unduly influencing law enforcement agencies and prosecution is an extremely common occurrence in our country. Again in most such cases, partisan considerations, nepotism and prejudice, and not pecuniary gain or gratification, may be the motives. The resultant failure of justice undermines public confidence in our justice system, and breeds anarchy and violence. It is such failure of justice which is creating a market demand for criminals in our society, and encouraging many citizens to take law into their own hands out of desperation. A whole industry of criminal gangs has come into being to provide rough and ready ‘justice’ through unlawful, and often violent and brutal means. In such cases, departmental action is insufficient to punish the guilty, nor is public opprobrium or forced resignation a sufficient deterrent.

Finally, squandering public money for ostentatious official life style, expensive furnishings and vehicles, and unreasonably high official expenditure have become increasingly common. In all such cases, there is neither private pecuniary gain nor specific gain or loss to any citizen. There is also no misappropriation involved. The public exchequer at large suffers, and both public interest and citizens trust in government are seriously undermined.

All these four types of willful abuse of office are extremely common in our country at all levels, and need to be firmly curbed if we are to maintain high standards of ethical conduct and protect public interest. Otherwise, public servants – elected or appointed – will be seen not as custodians of the common interest and sentinels of democracy, but will be perceived as buccaneers and adventurers with limitless power and unrestrained opportunities for personal aggrandizement and pursuing private agendas while occupying public office.

Therefore, there is a need for classifying the following as offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act or any other appropriate legislation:

Gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions amounting to willful violation of oath of office.

Abuse of authority unduly favouring or harming someone

Obstruction of justice

Squandering public money

***

Reply to a mail we received recently

Dear friends,
We at Lok Satta Party believe in replying to each and every mail we receive.We are posting below a mail sent to us by one Mr.Kiran Kumar Reddy. Mr.Jayaprakash Narayan's reply follows.

We hope Mr.Kiran Kumar will not mind us making public his mail. Due to a technical problem, we unfortunately seem to have lost his email Id. Since we have no other way of contacting him,we are posting the reply here on the blog. We hope you see this Mr.Kiran and we apologise for the inconvenience!




Dear Jai prakash Narayan,

I wanted to talk to you about the grave problem of hunger and poverty in the country, I happened to see this news over TV and online.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/13-boom-for-mkts-doom-for-poor/25093-3.html

[Patna: It’s a shocking tale of two Indias, the irony of which is clearly indicative of the stark socio-economic disparity.
While the country’s business entrepreneurs raised a toast to BSE benchmark Sensex breaching the 13,000 mark on Monday, thousands of miles away in Bihar, a man committed suicide after not having eaten for 13 days.
While stock markets' upward journey from 11K to 13K was marked with nationwide jubilation, this man's agony of starvation for 13 days was lost in anonymity.
Found hanging from the roof of a local passenger train in Patna, all proof that the man left behind of his identity was a suicide note that read: “I don't belong to this world. I am helpless.”
“His body was found tied to a small rack near the berth. He was in a standing position and had apparently hung himself,” says DIG, Railways, Ajay Verma.
In his suicide note, the man - yet to be identified - hasn’t blamed anyone.
All he has repeatedly insisted is that it was his poverty that drove him to starvation, which made him helpless enough to put an end to his life.
“The suicide note says he had not eaten for last 12 days and was only surviving on water. He has also written that no one really cared for him or asked him where he had come from. We’ll get to know more about his death after the post-mortem,” says Verma.
Having lost his battle with hunger after putting up a brave front almost 15 days, this man is perhaps India’s most touching face of hunger and poverty.
But will his thought-provoking suicide note be of any relevance for the powers that be, or will his desperation be lost in the loud celebrations of an India galloping towards the goal of a global superpower?]

My heart is breaking seeing this, where are we going as a society and country, this is not what we want to leave back for the future generations. I don’t think reading these kind of news or hearing this any Indian would be proud that we are doing excellent as a nation.

I feel we have no time and we should work as a movement in this and bring civil society as a part of this movement and make sure no one dies with hunger in this country, I don’t think any company in India or any middle class person or any educated person would have a problem in contributing for this.

The point is who makes them aware of the realities of this country, we should, and we should provide them a medium to contribute back to society especially with regard to aged and helpless people and also the kids on the streets.

Everyone feels sad and hurt hearing all this or reading these, but what can they do other than try and forget if not they cannot go about their daily lives. But I strongly feel we should have system in place where every citizen gets an opportunity to contribute to the hungry and needy in whichever way they can instead of just feeling a moment of un happiness/helplessness and then going about their routine. We should try and build a social security for aged and children of this country unless we take care of the basic needs of our aged and future generation, otherwise we cannot claim to be a great nation.

I think we should find a solution to make people AWARE AND AWAKEN them to this sad state of our country. We should encourage people to participate in these causes which help poor old and children.

There should be minimum 10 old aged home and child care centers in every district and anyone above 50 and below 15 should be given food and medicine and everything to live happily
These centers should be run by retired army with the help of prisoner in open jails or members of society who are interested in helping society.
These centers should be run by the local community without any political or governmental influence only the land and funds should be provided by government.
We should encourage companies contribute for these causes, the ones who contribute should be given privilege like a STAR status or something so that people are keen to go to these shops, so that when they buy something here or eat something here a little goes to the poor.
We should involve the great corporate world of India specially IT, Telecom, Banking and others to contribute to this cause which needs urgent attention, i.e. feed the poor.

I know a contrary argument is that we are going make people complacent but see even in a family set up would we not give care and support to a member who doesn’t work or needs us? The same way we should as a country take care of all its citizens. The argument of providing employment, education etc is fine but there is an urgent need to provide the needy with the most basic of human requirement, which is food - food for the old and children of the country no matter what.

I want to tell you Dr.JP that these are the main reasons that is making me come and join a movement such as the one you have started.

I think we should find a solution to make people awake of this sad state of country. Everyone sees the roads, airports, hotels, shopping malls and think we are progressing, actually we are building a society on the dead bodies of the poor people, they have equal right on this country and its resources and its no utility to them if our country is fast progressing because our progress is in fact taking away from them their most basic requirement, which is food.

I feel so sad and heart broken when I am writing to you, I don’t know how I could have helped the who man died of hunger and I think I don’t want his sacrifice to go waste. As a mark or respect to him I want to initiate this project of old age home and home for kids through our loksatta. I want to go through what he went through, even in a small way, so I skipped lunch, break fast but I feel its not enough.


Yours truly,
Kiran kumar reddy


Reply:

Dear Kiran,
Thank you for the email.Like you, I am moved by the incident.Your passion and conviction are inspiring.I agree that we must also incorporate a program of minimum social security for all to ensure that the indigent and underclass can at least survive with some dignity.

While it is not easy,we, as a country can accomplish that.Let us be in touch to pursue the subject.

Warm regards

Jayaprakash Narayan

Public Meeting

This is to announce LOK SATTA PARTYs public meeting.The where and when are as follows:

When : October 15th (Sunday) 2006

Where : Exhibition Grounds,Nampally,Hyderabad.

At : 16:30 hrs (4:30 pm)

ALL ARE WELCOME!

The birth of Lok Satta Party

Citizens of India,
The Lok Satta Party was launched on October 2nd 2006.Lok Satta the NGO accomplished a great deal in its nine years of existence.But the changes required to really transform India are possible only when the 'powers that be' have the will to implement the logical and practical solutions proposed.Unfortunately,they either don't want to or cannot afford to.Hence arose the need to form a political party of the people.

We present below, the Preamble of the Constitution of the Lok Satta Party.


'Indian people have enjoyed, over the past fifty six years, the fruits of a liberal and noble Constitution given to us by the generation that fought for freedom. The foundations of our democracy are strong and durable and our liberties are genuine.

However, the bulk of the people still suffer from the burdens of discrimination by birth and inadequate opportunities and their potential remains unfulfilled. Avoidable suffering is the lot of the majority of our people. The young people who today constitute a vast majority of India, have hardly any place in our public affairs. Our antiquated political culture does not suit the aspirations of the new generation which is unburdened by the baggage of the past and is rearing to conquer the future.

Politics has increasingly become the preserve of a new class of entrepreneurs abusing public office for private gain. Excessive centralization, ineffective instruments of rule of law, marginalization of citizens in governance, autocratic political parties and unaccountable exercise of power have led to a perverse political culture and pervasive corruption. In our power-centered politics women continue to be marginalized. The disadvantaged sections who need high quality and reliable public services most, have no real power to determine the priorities of government or improve the outcomes. The middle classes, who should constitute the vanguard of a democratic polity, are increasingly alienated from the political process.

The need of the hour is to foster a new political culture and to create a new political formation for the new generation. The new political culture should be founded in our own liberal traditions and Constitutional values. These values should find expression in a member-controlled, democratic, transparent political process. There must be a harmonious reconciliation between the imperatives of rapid economic growth and the need for social justice and equal opportunities to all. Liberty and human dignity should be preserved and promoted at all costs and the citizen should be at the heart of the political process in the twenty first century.

In the twenty first century we need to build a society completely free from all forms of discrimination by birth and all vestiges of the pernicious caste system. All power should vest with the citizen and governance should be decentralized and restructured, based on the principles of citizen sovereignty and subsidiarity.

Corruption and private gain at public cost must be things of the past and all processes of governance should be transparent and accountable. The state needs to focus on creating conditions for peace and order, opportunities for fulfilling human potential and preventing avoidable suffering and wholesome and sustainable economic growth coupled with social justice. Politics must once again become a moral endeavour promoting human happiness and harmony.

It is with this vision and with a view to rejuvenate our republic and promote inclusive politics and reasoned public discourse that we, like-minded citizens of India, have decided to come together and form a new political formation - Lok Satta Party.'

We urge each and every Indian citizen to watch and gauge us by our actions.Pessimism is expected,afterall,it is a result of the pandemic rot in our political system.We are but a manifestation of your desire for a change. JOIN US!