Times of India: New Delhi: Thursday, May 30, 2013.
Civil society activist Aruna Roy, who has quit the
National Advisory Council ( NAC), said, "There has been a clear lack of
political will (in taking up social welfare legislations) and disarray in
Parliament, not only on the part of the government but also other political
parties."
Her decision reflects the growing disillusionment
of civil society leaders with the government after having helped shape
Congress's social welfare agenda.
Roy was unhappy that landmark measures like Right
to Information (RTI) were being undermined and transparency provisions
providing for automatic disclosure had not been incorporated in the RTI law.
She criticized the government's much-touted unique identification project as a
managerial tool of unproven value.
In her letter of resignation to Sonia Gandhi, Roy
said the government's refusal to pay minimum wages was baffling despite the
Supreme Court not staying a Karnataka high court ruling in favour of the
measure.
She blamed a "small but vocal minority"
for working to undermine the rural employment guarantee scheme. Roy told TOI
that the employment programme was not going down well with industrialists and
investors as it threatened the status quo by empowering the poor.
On the much-delayed food security bill, she said
that given India's malnutrition and hunger scenario, the law should have been
debated and passed by now, instead of being stuck in a consultative and
political stalemate.
She called for swift passage of proposed laws like
Lokpal, whistle blowers' protection bill and grievance redressal laws.
Roy thanked Sonia for fostering a tradition of
healthy debate within the National Advisory Council and said she hoped to work
to strengthen popular participation in welfare programmes.
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