No point talking of a clean administration and not bringing it about

What the common man wants is a foolproof mechanism with the help of which he could break the wall against which he has to bang his head every day. Indeed, there are major differences over vital issues like bringing the Prime Minister and the judiciary under the purview of the proposed Bill, probing MPs’ parliamentary conduct and merging anti-corruption bodies like the CVC, the CBI and departmental vigilance wings into the office of the Lokpal.

Anna Hazare’s movement was only a manifestation of that disillusionment. Whether the Lokpal will be the right tool to curb corruption is secondary. What matters is that the public is sick and tired of the present corrupt system. How to get rid of this menace is what matters the most. But the political class, in cahoots with the business and the bureaucracy, has instead tried to discredit the public protests. Sidelining the Gandhian form of public protests would be dangerous because that would bring into picture the radical elements which swear by violent means of protest. The politicians should treat Anna’s men as their friends instead of adversaries, for they represent the voice of the people. It is no point talking of a clean administration and not bringing it about.  

Election Commission of India; Reforms on the agenda

An attempt to build consensus over electoral reforms will be made in July at a conference of political parties. The conference will deliberate on proposals finalized by the Election Commission after holding several regional consultations in various parts of the country.

Debarring people accused of various crimes from contesting elections as soon as the courts frame charges and greater transparency in the working of political parties through internal democracy and financial accountability are just two of the proposals in the report being prepared. There is also a proposal that the political parties should receive donations through cheques.

Another proposal suggests that nobody be allowed to contest from more than one seat in an election. Presently, if a candidate contests from more than one seat, and wins from all, he is allowed to retain just one seat. This necessitates by-elections, which also amounts to betrayal of the faith of the voter. Meanwhile, India is fast emerging as the ‘Global Guru’ of election management. Having successfully conducted elections since its inception in 1950, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now gearing up to provide its expertise to the Arab world.

The first country on its agenda is Egypt, where a people’s movement brought down the 30-year-old regime of President Hosni Mubarak early this year. As the Arab nation prepares for parliamentary elections in September, to be followed by presidential polls, ECI’s help has been sought to ensure a smooth election.

The Egyptian side wanted to share India’s experience in areas like voter education and electoral participation, EVMs and technology based election tracking and facilitation systems, confided Akshay Rout, Director General of the ECI. There was also keen interest in the techniques used by the ECI for tracking election processes like SMS, voters’ helpline and videography.

Egypt is not the only country. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) earlier this month invited the ECI for a meeting in Cairo to provide help to other nascent democracies in the Arab region. Mexico and South Africa were the other countries invited for the meeting.

The ECI is also discussing with the governments of Delhi and Haryana for land acquisition and for subsequent construction of a campus for the India International Institute of Election Management at New Delhi. 

In the past, the commission has extended election management support on request to a number of countries, i.e. Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Cambodia, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. It has also signed MoUs with the UN and electoral bodies of Ivory Coast, Mexico, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Brazil and Russia and is in the process of finalising accords with Nepal, Mauritius, Egypt, Thailand and Indonesia. 

Lokpal panel agrees to speed up bill drafting process

New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) The negotiations on a draft Lokpal Bill today gained momentum with Government and civil society members agreeing on a number of basic principles of the proposed law and deciding to meet more often.

Emerging from a three-hour meeting, Union Minister Kapil Sibal expressed confidence draft Lokpal Bill would be ready by June 30, as announced in a government notification, in time for introduction in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

The meeting chaired by Finance Minister Mukherjee took place in the backdrop of co-chairman Shanti Bhushan raising the issue of slow progress on drafting the bill and expressing doubts whether the June 30 deadline would be met.

He said that there was consensus on almost half of the 40 points brought to the table by the Anna Hazare''s five-member team and the discussion on the same would continue when the Joint Drafting Committee meets again on May 30.

Bringing the higher judiciary and the Prime Minister within the ambit of the Lokpal were still sticking points and discussion on the same is expected to be taken up at the next meeting.

Hazare''s team today presented a set of suggestions from some other civil society groups on the Lokpal Bill which also included recommendations of the public hearings on the issue held at various places across the country.

Sibal said that suggestions from other civil activists on the bill were welcome.

He said there was complete agreement on the issue of the authority of Lokpal being independent without any interference from the government.

PTI SKU AMR

Jan Lokpal Bill: Anti-graft crusaders take it to people

NEW DELHI: Social activists sat down with members of the civil society in Shahdara on Sunday to generate awareness on the Jan Lokpal Bill. The public consultation was organized under the aegis of 'India Against Corruption' and 'Corruption Prevention Social Welfare Organization' (CPSWO). 

"We are trying to take the Bill to the people and inform them of its contents. We are reaching out to residents of New Delhi through organizations working in this direction, pamphlets and movies," said Rishikesh Kumar, member of India Against Corruption, at the meet. 

Other speakers included Ramesh Jha, lecturer, mathematics department, Delhi University; Anita Maan, president, CPSWO; and Vijay Saxena, vice-president, CPSWO. The meet was not exclusive to Shahdara, though; it extended to Rohini and Indirapuram, too. Six such meetings have already been held in the capital and plans are afoot to hold at least 60 more meetings in the days to come, said Kumar. 

"In the last 15-20 days, a lot of such activities have taken place across the country. Everyone at the individual level is doing something or the other in this direction. We are seeking public suggestions, which will then be forwarded to the joint committee to improve the Bill," said Arvind Kejriwal. 

Apart from organizing such meets, India Against Corruption is also planning to travel from New Delhi to Bhopal to educate the masses about the Bill against graft. 

"The Jan Chetna Yatra will begin on May 24th and will be a seven-day march, covering areas like Delhi, Faridabad, Mathura, Gwalior, Jhansi etc," said Chauhan. 

He added: "There will be no leaders in this yatra, but about 10 volunteers, who will begin their journey from New Delhi. They will have several stops during which they will hold interactions with people. " 

TOI spoke to a few attendees at the Sunday summit to gauge their reaction to it. One Rekha Yadav said: "I am a housewife and I did not know what the Bill was all about. But today, they told us several useful things about it, including the names of the bodies involved, the right people to approach with complaints, etc. I might not know everything about it, but I do know where to go when I am harassed by corrupt people." 

Source:  TOI May 23, 2011, 05.57am IST