Times of India: Jaipur: Tuesday,
March 25, 2014.
Oratory
skills, a hiccup or two forgone, scored better once again when pitched against
sharp demands. Meant to be the first of a series of dialogues between the civil
society and representatives of political parties for enabling the voter to make
the right choice, politicians managed to maneuver the sharp edges set forth as
the three-hour discussion by the Right to Information Manch, Rajasthan,
unfolded here on 'What kind of India do we want.'
Dalit rights,
poverty, safety for woman, end to corruption, proper implementation of Forest
Rights Act, Right to Education, Right to Information and MGNREGA, equality for
minorities were some of the issues put forth as members of the civil society
sought to bring politicians towards setting up a specific agenda for the polls.
"Political
parties must be careful and must not form their manifestos on their own. They
must take proper representation from the people and seek their help in framing
the laws. These laws must be discussed and debated," said Justice
Surendranath Bhargav.
But that was
not to be. Cries for a respectful right for minorities, a fearless world for
women or students being picked up by police and branded as terrorists or that
of untouchables were answered by how each party was better than the other by
the CPI, CPM, AAP, BSP, BJP and the Congress.
"We are
all talking of the symptoms without addressing the disease," felt Dr
Virendra Singh, AAP's candidate from Jaipur. For Congress it was the sheer
mandate for decades that proved them better than the others. "People's
choice cannot be questioned and it is they who have been selecting us over the
others. We have brought the country ahead from the time when it could not make even
a pin to a time when it makes modern gadgets. We have taken tribals, dalits and
minorities with us," said Archana Sharma, spokesperson of the state
Congress. BJP's state spokesperson Kailashnath Bhatt had only the party's
dreams for a better India to speak about.
Nikhil Dey of
the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) intervened and
demanded that the RTI be extended to all public, religious and social
organizations. "Its ambit should also be extended to cover NGOs, trade
unions, cooperative societies and even the media. There should be transparency
and every question should be answered else there must be provisions for a
fine," said Dey clearing setting the agenda for the government ahead.
"We
should all work towards unity and not bring in more divisions. But it is often
the government that acts against the Constitution. If someone raises a voice
against it the government should answer it and not term the protestors as
working against the country or terrorist. And of course, we want a place where
civil protests, either in Delhi or Jaipur, can be held. The Constitution
provides for peaceful protest in a democracy and Statue Circle in Jaipur and a
better place than Jantar Mantar in Delhi should be earmarked for such protests,"
said noted social worker Aruna Roy.
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