Mumbai - Pick your six.

 

Mumbai - Pick your six.

 

It is good to see so many eminent persons selected by the karmayogis. However, we have to accept the fact that fighting the election requires not merely considerable amount of money but the support of the people. This is possible if you have a well-organised party. And this is not possible to do so in a short time.

 

Let us think of a more feasible thing -  prepare a sort of manifesto which can bring the desired change.The manifesto can be forwarded to all the parties for adoption and whoever accepts it should be supported by all the NGOs.

 

The following could be included in that "Peoples' Manifesto for Good Governance". Karmayogis can add more.

 

1. The Rule of Law.

Now we have different laws for different people. We always talk about corruption in India. How many politicians have been prosecuted and punished for that ? Only some clerks and peons have been punished. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has ruled that it cannot punish the corrupt MPs as they have to be punished by the Parliament itself (Jharkand Mukti Morcha case during the time of the Prime Minister P.V.Narssimha Rao). You will find many more cases such as this. Legal experts should be able to tell us how to go change the law to promote rule of law. 

 

2. Accountability.

The recent terror strike has highlighted the negligence on the part of the politicians and the administration which includes police and the intelligence agencies. Most of the politicians have no time for the nitty-gritty of administration and that is why there are mounting number of pending files on their table and the decisions are delayed. Every minister should be in his chamber for at least four days in a week and clear the files. Every minister has to tell the people every month/quarterly how many files he has cleared and how may are pending. Every project - roads, schools, hospitals, - inititated should have to be completed within the stipulated period and if not, people should be told the reasons for the delay. No minister has been punished for farmers' suicide, nor any bureaucrat. No body has been held responsible for mal-nutrition among the tribals just outside Mumbai and in Thane district.

 

3. Justice.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Number of under-trials in our jails is a condemnation of our system. Our jails do not reform the criminal but makes him a hardened criminal.

 

4. Health.

Our public hospitals are as crowded as our jails. 

 

5. Schools.

Most of our public schools have no proper teachers, nor other essentials such as benches, black-boards, books etc.

 

The list is long. We have to prepare a small write-up on each of the above issues with the help of the experts in each subject and how to to improve the system. This would be our Manifesto for good governance. Even after accepting the manifesto, the parties may not implement it. It would be our responsibility to monitor the implementation as well. 

 

( This was written in response to the mail by Karmayog, an NGO, to select six names to be elected from Mumbai to the Loka Sabha in the next election.)


December 7,2008.


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