Virtual seminar on ‘Rule of Law’ from Feb. 20

Hyderabad: A virtual seminar on ‘Rule of Law’ organised by Foundation for Democratic Reforms, UoH and ISB spread over eight days focusing on constitutional governance and democratic society is set to kick off from February 20. The seminar will see dozens of legal luminaries, thinkers and policy makers share their insights into the law and policing issues in the country spread over 15 sessions, said former legislator N. Jaya Prakash Narayana.

“When Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, the culprit was hanged within a year. But when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated it took 12 years for the final judgment. In the Sunanda Pushkar case, it took two years for the DNA test,” said Dr. Narayana, who is the force behind the organisation of the seminar.

“In the Disha case they killed the culprits, but we are not sure innocents will not be killed? The Vikas Dubey case is similar. We don’t have sympathy for the criminal. But why these things are happening and how to stop them is part of the seminar,” said Dr. Narayana.

“After protecting our borders, the prime duty of the government is protecting citizens of the country. If a government cannot provide the security to its citizens then that government is useless,” said Dr. Narayana, who hoped that the seminar will help policy makers improve the rule of law in the country.

 “We have jungle of laws where the law of jungle prevails. There is no dearth of laws in India. We have most number of laws. But when it comes to implementing the laws then we fail,” said P.S. Rammohan Rao speaking about the need to improve rule of law in the country.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Vice President all for simultaneous polls

‘Of the 533 Lok Sabha members, 475 are crorepatis’

Hyderabad: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has called upon political parties to seriously consider the option of simultaneous elections right from panchayats to Parliament, across the country, to bring down the cost of holding elections by the Election Commission of India and also the expenditure by the political parties.

Apart from legitimate election expenditure, he said rise of illegitimate expenditure on vote buying is a great concern as it is making only the rich to be more qualified to become an MP, MLA -- than a well-qualified public spirited person.

“Of 533 candidates elected to the 17th Lok Sabha, 475 accounting for 88% are ‘crorepatis’. This paradox of poor India with rich Parliamentarians is raising concerns about growing role of money power in politics,” he said.

The Vice President was the chief guest at the inaugural session of the first annual national conference on ‘Indian Democracy at Work’ with the theme ‘Money power in politics’ organised by the Foundation for Democratic Reforms, ISB-Bharat Institute of Public Policy and University of Hyderabad at ISB here on Thursday.

Complimenting Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, general secretary, FDR, for his sustained efforts for generating public awareness about clean politics and its merits, the Vice President called for fixing governance system and effective regulation of political finance along with bold reforms to break the vicious cycle of corruption and erosion of quality of democratic polity.

Any reform would be opposed in the beginning but it would benefit every citizen, political parties and government in the end, he said.

To check this trend, political parties must be made accountable for implementing their promises and there must be a ceiling on populist announcements based on the budgetary resources of a local body, State and the Centre on the lines of FRBM Act, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said.

He said Election Commission alone can not control money power in elections and politics and it is the responsibility of political parties, government and the voters.

A voter would forfeit the right to question the government when he compromises on morals and accepts gift or cash for his vote. It is crucial to plug the loopholes in the anti-defection law to make democracy accountable and transparent, he said.

He appealed to the citizens to vote in elections based on character, conduct, calibre and capability of the candidates and not based on cash, caste, community and criminal prowess. That would be the ultimate solution to check money power in politics, he said.

Earlier Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said Indian democracy ensured peaceful transfer of power through elections and people cherish their freedom but shortcomings should be addressed to make democracy deliver better, he said. About Rs.1 lakh crore was spent on elections, most of it unaccounted, during the cycle of five years, undermining Indian democracy.

Prof. P. Appa Rao, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad, said university campuses should become the laboratory for reforms.

Mr. Rajendra Srivastava, Dean, Indian School of Business, proposed a vote of thanks.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Former CEC moots ‘national election fund'

‘Candidates end up spending 20 times more than the prescribed limit’

Hyderabad: Former Chief Election Commissioner of India T.S. Krishnamurthy suggested creating of ‘national election fund’ with 100% tax exemption to facilitate public funding of polls.

Chairing the plenary session on ‘Legitimate Campaign Expenditure in Indian politics’ at the first annual conference of ‘Indian Democracy at Work’ with the theme of ‘Money Power in Politics’ here on Thursday, he agreed with the views expressed that the limit for expenditure imposed by the Election Commission for Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies could not be enforced. Candidates end up spending 20 times more than the prescribed limit, it was pointed out.

He however asserted that the source of money to political parties should be strictly regulated and bearer bonds did not promote transparency and they could also allow foreign money to come to the parties. He felt cash contribution to political parities was dangerous and there would be limitations even for the administration to check them.

On the suggestion of the Vice-President that simultaneous polls be held, he said it would require Constitution amendment. Reforms are not coming through as political parties want status quo to continue but unless the power of money is controlled, elections and democracy will not succeed in the country, he said.

Telangana State BJP president K. Laxman welcomed the suggestion for proportional representation to give seats to the political parties on the basis of their vote share rather than the ‘first past the post system’ which encourages rampant vote buying. Dr. Laxman said he was the victim of money power as he had lost by 200 votes in 2004 as he refused to buy votes. With advent of regional parties post globalisation, expenditure on elections went up enormously and role of caste, community and divisive politics increased. In 2019 elections, Rs.10,000 crore were spent by political parties in Andhra Pradesh and Rs.6,000 crore in Telangana.

Mr. Konda Vishweshwar Reddy said laws to reign in election expenditure failed as only 10% of actual expenditure was legitimate expenditure while 90% of expenditure was illegitimate/black money. The system needs to be fixed to attract clean people, he said.

Natasha Jog, Election Integrity Lead, India, South Asia, Facebook said since 2016, thrice the number of people were deployed to work on elections issue to make Facebook platform safe. “We brought down 2.2 billion fake accounts to check misinformation, and transparency was being brought on political advertisements.”

Courtesy: The Hindu

Poll expenses must be checked

Ram Madhav supports plan for direct election of PM, CM

Hyderabad: Money is required for politics but it should not be illegitimate. It is also important to define ‘illegitimate’ election expenditure, said Election Commissioner of India Ashok Lavasa.

Speaking at the plenary on “Illegitimate expenditure in Indian Politics”, he said that governments and political system alone should take the initiative for controlling expenditure in elections. Change for the better would happen fast when citizens adhered to social and moral values, he said.

Mr. Lavasa admitted that a situation was prevailing where no one but ‘crorepatis’ would win the elections. Yet, the Election Commission beyond a point has no power to control the expenditure in elections. In the last election, ‘crorepatis’ accounted for 37% of MPs elected and this time, the number shot up to 87%.

In a recent election in a State, it was proved that those who were awarded contracts a few months before the election gave large amount of donations. “A discussion on election expenditure should be held from various angles, including the campaign involving celebrities and media owned by political parties,” he said.

BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said that they, in principle, supported the proposal for direct election of Mayor, Chief Minister and Prime Minister in the form of Presidential election. But without adopting the presidential form of institutions in other countries, a discussion should happen to suit conditions in our country.

“Huge amounts of money were being spent because of lure for power vested in political posts. At present, power was centralised at the highest level instead of being vested with people. Delegation of powers to local governments alone would bring down the monopoly of MLAs and MPs,” he said.

FDR general secretary Jayaprakash Narayan, who chaired the session, said that parties and leaders could bring forth reforms to make democracy work better and meet people’s aspirations.

“The Modi government has the wherewithal to bring in reforms for direct election of CM and PM, proportionate representation and decentralisation of power to local bodies and Mr. Ram Madhav should take initiative,” he said.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Conference on democracy stresses on political reforms

‘Hyderabad Declaration’ calls for reviewing the First Past the Post System and consider proportional representation

The two-day national conference on “Indian Democracy At Work”, organised to look at the shortcomings in democracy, particularly the flood of big money into electoral politics, passed a declaration to work towards political reforms in a gradual manner to tackle the multi-dimensional problem, here on Friday.

At its concluding session, the “Hyderabad Declaration” called for reviewing the First Past the Post System (candidate who gets the highest number of votes in a constituency gets elected to the seat) and consider proportional representation in place of FPTP and also direct election of the executive. The alternative systems, if adopted, should be tailored to Indian conditions with adequate safeguards to ensure wider regional representations in national power structure to prevent division of polity on caste and regional lines and ensure stability of governments, it said.

The FPTP makes winning every seat critical for political parties and leaders, thereby compelling them to resort to populist promises, offering inducements to voters and resort to poll management strategies that are in violation of the democratic spirit.

A national dialogue on alternative electoral models — clear separation of powers of the executive and legislature and direct election of the executive should be considered seriously, the Declaration said.

Organised by the Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR) in association with Indian School of Business (ISB) and University of Hyderabad (UoH), the conference was inaugurated by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and attended by people from various walks of life — political leaders and members of civil society organisations, civil servants, academicians, media personnel, social activists and businessmen.

Participants deliberated on the negative impact of illegitimate money power in politics and raised concern that it could undermine the very objective of democracy to work for all sections of people and give them a better life.

They endorsed that a robust legal framework was needed to ensure democratic functioning of political parties and regulate flow of money into the political sphere. A legislation should be brought to make parties choose their office-bearers through periodical organisational election and selection of candidates for public office through a transparent and democratic process.

Parties should be made to declare in time their annual income and expenditure and disclose sources of funding. Policy measures should be in place to enable political parties to raise and receive necessary funding in a transparent manner so that all parties have minimum financial support to carry out party activities and compete in elections.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Meet on 'Money power in politics' at ISB

Hyderabad: A two-day conference on ‘Money power in politics’ would be organised at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Gachibowli, on January 9 and 10 by Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR), in association with ISB and University of Hyderabad (UoH).

This is first in the series of annual conferences organised under the forum ‘Indian Democracy at Work’ where civil society group members, political leaders, social activists, media personnel, civil servants, business persons, academicians and people from other professions would participate.

Announcing details of the conference at the Press Club on Thursday, FDR general secretary Jayaprakash Narayan said three topics would be discussed at the conference -- how to reduce work load at government offices, changes needed in poll process to stop buying votes and the ceiling on money spend on elections by parties.

Mr Narayan said that the meet would explore the reasons which led to the issues and how other countries tackle it. Mr E Venkatesh, Professor at the Department of Political Science, UoH, said that the outcome of the conference would be published in the form of soft and hard copies which will be distributed to intellectuals, research institutions.

Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, former Supreme Court judge Justice J Chelameswar, retired IPS officer C Anjaneya Reddy and Prashant Kishor, political strategist, and others would participate in the conference.

Courtesy: The Hindu

AP needs capital cities as well as mega city: Lok Satta

District governments mooted for decentralised administration

Foundation for Democratic Reforms and Lok Satta Founder Jayaprakash Narayan has in principle welcomed the proposal of Andhra Pradesh government to extend the State capital to three areas .

However he said that the decision to have three capital cities would be only one aspect of governance. The proposal might satisfy people in different regions but it would not lead to decentralisation of administration. True decentralisation would happen only when people need not come to the Chief Minister and the capital city for their work or grievances.

Dr.Narayan in a release said that a capital city would be different from a mega city which could become an economic growth engine. Thus after allocating 2,000 acres for Secretariat, legislature and government offices, remaining thousands of acres could be utilised for developing Amaravathi as a Mega city. It is a fact that mega cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, etc., would have a cluster effect and attract investments for development.

For genuine decentralisation, Chief Minister should delegate his powers to Ministers and officials. Most importantly ‘District Governments’ be set up for integrated development so that for 95% of their requirements, people need not come out of their districts.

He also said panchayats should be extended to include a population of 20,000 to 25,000 for decentralisation of powers and administration. At least one third of State Budget should be allocated for local bodies - panchayats and municipalities. The responsibility of paying salaries of teachers, maintaining primary health centre be entrusted to the local bodies. State Government should only have a supervisory role, he said.

He also suggested that regional councils be set up for Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra with MLAs and give them maximum powers. If these regional councils did not deliver, then the State Government should have powers to regulate them.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Public health policy is not about money spent but the outcome

‘Average time a doctor spends with patient in India is one minute as against six minutes in Germany’

Hyderabad: India may have made strides in control of communicable diseases, population control, polio and others but its public healthcare, especially primary healthcare, is in bad shape. Public policy on health is not just about amount of money allocated or spent but how it is being implemented and the outcomes, said Jeffrey Hammer, visiting professor in economic development at Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. US.

“National Rural Healthcare Mission was touted to be big success on huge sums spent and number of people employed but our research has shown people could not differentiate much between a public health doctor or a village healer or a quack,” he said, at the first public lecture series on ‘Governance in Action’ hosted by Foundation for Democratic Reforms and Administrative Staff College of India on Thursday.

Prof. Hammer’s current research is on quality of medical care in India, determinants of health status and improving service delivery through better accountability. Studies had shown the average time spent by a doctor with a patient is about one minute whereas it was about six minutes in Germany! “We can’t have government interfering into every field but at the same time we cannot think markets are the most efficient,” he observed.

The country had been chasing investments as it would generate jobs but “who would want to come to a place where there is no sewerage system, sanitation is not a priority, pest control is absent, mosquitoes cause havoc and air is polluted — all these have to be provided for by the government,” said Prof. Hammer.

“Health and hygiene issues in India like infant and maternity mortality have been achieved by rich nations at much better rates 100 years ago much before the advancements of medicare like surgical procedures,” he claimed.

Medical insurance could play a role but need regulatory systems yet it was a complicated situation as it was not possible to “second guess happenings in doctor’s room”. Strengthening public healthcare could provide an answer as it could compete with private sector and perhaps drive the costs down due to competition, he felt.

Later, Prof. Lant Prichett, Blavantik School of Government, University of Oxford, spoke on education. These two talks are part of M. Bhoji Reddy & EV Ram Reddi endowment lectures, said FDR general secretary Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan. ASCI chairman K. Padmanabhaiah, also spoke.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Tailor-made strategies needed to ensure balanced development in State

Lok Satta founder bats for empowerment of local government

Development strategies should be tailored to suit the local resources, conditions and context, Lok Satta founder Jaya Prakash Narayan has said.

Delivering the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Memorial Lecture on ‘development of backward regions’ organised by Dr. YSR Smaraka Committee, here on Monday, Dr. Jaya Prakash Narayan, who is also the general secretary of Foundation of Democratic Reform, said that the north coastal districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, and Rayalaseema region districts constitute have been suffering from underdevelopment.

Throwing light on the issue, Mr. Narayan said the reasons for backwardness of the two regions were different.

“The north coastal Andhra Pradesh region receives high average annual rainfall of 1,165 mm, while Rayalaseema witnesses a rainfall of 714 mm. Despite the difference in agro-climatic conditions, both the regions re main relatively backward in terms of human development and economic indicators,” he said.

The most important strategy to promote development in the two regions would be granting autonomy and facilitating local empowerment and accountability. Creation of regional councils under the supervision of the government, introduction of district budgets to ensure accountability and allowing of local governments to take decisions could go a long way in ensuring balanced development of the State, Mr. Narayan observed.

Independent Ombudsman

“At least 25 % of the State budget should be earmarked for local governments. A strong and independent Ombudsman, under Lokayukta’s supervision, is needed to ensure that grievances are redressed, complaints investigated and corrupt employees and political leaders be punished,” he said.

A system of power with accountability would yield rich dividends in regional and local development.

Simultaneously strong citizens’ charters with legally defined time frames for service delivery, and penalties for delay will ensure accountability, he added.

Further, the Lok Satta founder underlined the need for the State government to prevail upon the Union government for immediate release of the special development package announced to the two backward regions in the State.

Former Minister and Uttarandhra Charcha Vedika convener Konathala Ramakrishna presided over the meeting.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Polarisation on religion and caste lines conspicuous: JP

Real issues of livelihood took a backseat, says Lok Satta Party founder-president

Vijayawada: Congratulating Narendra Modi and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on their emphatic victories in the general elections, Lok Satta Party founder-president Jayaprakash Narayan said the influence of religion and the rhetoric on Defence, internal security and terrorism was clearly visible at the national level, while caste and freebies had a profound impact in Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Saturday, Mr. Narayan said polarisation on religion and caste lines was conspicuous across the country and the real issues of livelihood took a backseat. Parties appeased the voters through populist schemes which have huge implications to the exchequer and pretended as if they were giving the benefits out of their pockets. Now that the elections were over, parties should stop warring and focus on developmental issues, he exhorted.

Mr. Narayan said the national economy was in shambles and the scenario was no different in the State. The governments have to, therefore, pay attention to the issues at stake and particularly strive for eradicating poverty which continued to be a bane in spite of the tall claims made by them.

Reiterating that politics in A.P. had been sharply polarised in the name of caste, Mr. Narayan dispelled the notion that members of the Reddy community would benefit from the new government and those belonging to the Kamma caste would have benefited from the outgoing dispensation. In fact, only those who can leverage their clout would prosper and the plight of common people in those communities would continue to be the same, he observed.

In the State, the government’s focus should be on securing its dues from the Centre and giving what the people need in the long-term, he added.

Courtesy: The Hindu

North Andhra forum releases status report on Centre’s ‘unkept’ promises

It suggests the way forward on SCS; calls for time-bound completion of projects

The Uttarandhra Charcha Vedika (UCV) on Thursday released a status report on the promises that were yet to be fulfilled by the Central government even four years after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

The status report was released at AP Bhavan in New Delhi.

The 114-page report gave details of how the bifurcated State lost on the social, economic and infrastructure fronts due to the Centre’s intransigence vis-a-vis implementing the provisions of the A.P. Re-organisation Act, 2014.

This was part of the ‘jana ghosha’ launched by UCV convener and former Minister Konathala Ramakrishna.

The report was published by the Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR) based on the findings by an Independent Group of Experts (IGE).

“The report deals with Special Category Status (SCS), which has now become a people’s issue,” Mr. Ramakrishna said.

On the SCS, the IGE suggested three options to the Central government – concessions to the backward areas; tax benefits beyond what was promised but short of amount grated to the SCS States; and identification of backward areas across the country and extending full tax benefits to them, including those in A.P., he said.

“In addition, massive infrastructure projects need to be taken up in A.P. with 100 % contribution from the Centre in a time-bound programme. These, along with initiatives to promote investments and create jobs, should be taken up,” he added.

Amount due

The IGE insisted that all the 11 nationally important projects promised should be fully established by 2024. “Only ₹842 crore, which is 6.63% of the total project cost of ₹12,746 crore, has been released by the Centre,” the report stated. On the promised development assistance to the backward areas, the IGE said, “The Union should take steps to implement the special package of ₹24,350 crore within five years.” The report touched upon “meagre allocations” to capital city development.

Roads, storm-water drains, flood-proofing, sanitation and sewerage, drinking water, rapid connectivity and mass rapid transport system should be regarded as essential infrastructure, the report suggested.

FDR general secretary and IGE convener Jayaprakash Narayan, Chancellor of Central University of Gujarat Yoginder K Alagh, Head and professor of economics, Indian Statistical Institute, Atul Sharma, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh M.N. Rao, former Union Home Secretary K. Padmanabhaiah, and former A.P. Chief Secretary Ajay Kallam spoke.

People should set the agenda

Gandhian ideology will continue to inspire future generations, says JP

Lok Satta founder unveils 150 Mahatma statues in NTR Grounds

Lok Satta Party founder Jayaprakash Narayana on Wednesday said that Gandhian ideology would continue to inspire future generations of other nations also apart from India. He unveiled 150 Mahatma statues in NTR Grounds of Srikakulam.

Speaking on the occasion, he congratulated members of Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi, Sikkolu Seva Sainyam and PVS Rammohan Rao’s Foundation for taking the initiative in distribution of statues to selected villages and educational institutions.

Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi’s district coordinator M.V.S.S. Shastri said that all the statues would be installed on October 2 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

Srikakulam MP Kinajarapu Rammohan Naidu, Srikakulam MLA Gunda Lakshmi Devi, Lok Satta Party leaders Bhisetti Babji, Panchadi Rambabu and others hoped that the youngsters would be inspired by knowing about Gandhiji’s contribution to the nation. Representatives of various organisationsm including ARTS Director N. Sanyasi Rao, Rotary Club Past president Natukula Mohan and All India Human Rights Patron P.Chandrapati Rao, hailed the initiative of Smaraka Nidhi in spreading Gandhian ideology to nook and corner of Srikakulam district.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Scrap JB Committees

Kakinada: Delivering the keynote address in a seminar on ‘Democracy – Role of Local Self-governments’ arranged on the occasion, founder president of the Lok Satta N. Jayaprakash Narayana highlighted the need for abolishing the village-level ‘Janmabhoomi Committees’ with immediate affect to ensure the elected representatives of the local self-governments to work independently.

“These committees are unconstitutional and they are not allowing the elected bodies to attend to their duties and fulfil their responsibilities. Unless these committees are abolished, there is no meaning to the local self-governments,” he said.

Observing that the prevailing political environment was not so encouraging for the youngsters to join the politics, he said the more and more youngsters could join the politics only when the local bodies were strengthened and becoming independent.

‘Lagging behind’

“We are lagging behind in terms of rural development when compared to countries like China and Pakistan. Even the Central government is not allowing the panchayats and local bodies to become independent,” he pointed out. Reception committee president Sabbella Gangi Reddy highlighted the need for replacing the existing five-tier political system with the three-tier system to strengthen the panchayats at the village-level.

Courtesy: The Hindu

'Wake Up Call' to check decay of democracy

Former AP Chief Secretary’s book flags issues weakening democratic institutions

Hyderabad: Retired IAS officer and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Ajeya Kallam said citizenship is not only a right but also a duty. It is time for the people, particularly youth, to lead the charge and put ‘derailed democracy’ back on track, restore autonomy of institutions and check worsening corruption, he said.

In his book titled ‘Wake Up Call’, Mr. Kallam flagged several issues and possible solutions to strengthen collapsed systems for a robust democracy. “The idea is to flag these issues to common people and work out an agenda for transformative politics to reverse the present course of Monarchic democracy and dynasty politics and strengthen the institutions,” he said.

The book release function here on Wednesday provided the platform for speakers to look at the ills afflicting polity, governance, mounting corruption and reverse the course of governance in the States and the Centre back to democratic ways.

Raising the issue of defections, Justice P. Lakshman Reddy wondered how Legislative Assembly Speakers could fail to disqualify MLAs defecting to another party after elections, even as the 10th Schedule of Constitution was clear on disqualification.

Lok Satta founder president Jayaprakash Narayan, who released the book, said voters should stop looking at elections as a match between two parties. A voter should understand the link between the vote, good governance and better quality of life for citizens. Politicians should not solely be blamed, as some of them were as much victims as villains and were trapped in a vicious circle of spending lakhs and crores of rupees to win elections.

M.V.R. Sastry, former ditor, Andhra Bhoomi, said democracy was not just smooth transfer of power once every five years alone. Two political parties, mired in various scams and corruption sharing power alternately was not democracy, he said.

Explaining what prompted him to pen the book, Mr. Kallam said people had been witnessing political executive consciously weakening all the democratic institutions from 1980s onwards. Every time there was a change of guard at the political level, there was more suffocation and a feeling of being further let down.

He said debates titled ‘Mana Kosam Manam’ (We for ourselves) would be organised in every district, starting from Anantapur on April 21, to make people think and do their bit to change the situation for the better.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Experts to quantify aid to AP under SCS

Need to de-construct SCS to resolve stalemate: IGE members

Hyderabad: The Independent Group of Experts constituted to study the current status of fulfilment of commitments made by the Government of India to Andhra Pradesh under the AP State Reorganisation Act have resolved that there is need to de-construct the demand for Special Category Status into various components.

“The SCS is not a mantra. One party says they want it at any cost and the other rejects it outright. But, if the ‘Mantra’ is broken up into its specific components, it could be resolved easily. Except the tax concessions, the other components are not contentious and a solution can be figured out,” said Jayaprakash Narayan, Founder of Lok Satta and general secretary, Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR) who presided over the meeting.

The members of IGE, who held their first meeting under the aegis of FDR at the Centre for Economic and Social Studies here on Friday, looked into various commitments made to AP on financial assistance and development projects.

It decided to consult a team of experts from the CESS - Radhakrishna, Galab, and others economists to quantify the assistance the State would have obtained if it was a Special Category Status.

The demands include bridging revenue deficit of ₹13,434 crore of which GoI paid only ₹4,118 crore, backward area fund similar to Bundelkhand package, special central assistance with 90% grant from the Centre, and resolving anomalies on taxation matters totalling ₹3,820 crore.

It was also decided to consult a team of jurists and tax experts about provision of Section 50 of the AP State Reorganisation Act to extend compensation to AP for the tax arrears to be collected at the place of assessment, that is Hyderabad.

The meeting was attended by Justice M.N. Rao, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh and former Chairperson of National Commission on Backward Classes, retired IPS officers Anjaneya Reddy and H.J. Dora, 14th Finance Commission member M. Govinda Rao, K. Padmanabhaiah, former Union Home Secretary P. Chengal Reddy, Secretary General Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations, K. Sujatha Rao, former Union Health Secretary and others.

“In another 10 days, the committee of experts will submit the report based on the available data and seek time from the GoI to present our report for a rational and logical resolution of AP’s demands without getting into politics of it”, he said.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Pawan Kalyan warns of unrest in AP

Hyderabad: Actor-turned politician and Jana Sena founder Pawan Kalyan asked the Central Government to fulfill the promises made to Andhra Pradesh at the time of bifurcation, failing which there could be unrest among the people, which would go against the interests of the country.

“It is the duty of the government to fulfil the assurances made in the Parliament. The government’s failure to fulfill its assurances has the potential to fuel separatist movements among the people,” he said. The Jana Sena founder convened a meeting of intellectuals, retired officials and political party representatives that formed a Joint Fact Finding Committee (JFC) to study the promises made to the successor State of AP and the status of their implementation.

Lok Satta founder Jayaprakash Narayan, CPI (M) leader P. Madhu, CPI representative K. Ramakrishna, Congress representative Gidugu Rudraraju and former AP Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao were among those who attended the meeting. The meeting decided to constitute a sub-committee headed by retired bureaucrats M. Padmanabhaiah, Mr. Krishna Rao and T. Chandrasekhar to study the implementation of the promises made to the State and present a report. In the study, the sub-committee would look into aspects like fiscal deficit, status of backward regions, tax concessions, institutions, basic infrastructure, special category status/special package, funds for the construction of the capital and exclusive railway zone for AP post bifurcation.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan later said one of the prime reasons behind his entry into politics was the ‘injustice’ done to AP through the “unscientific” bifurcation.

He announced that JFC would continue to meet. It was decided to constitute sub-committees of experts on each issue for finalising the course of action to be adopted to mount pressure on the Centre to fulfil its assurances. “This is just the beginning and the exercise will continue till the State gets its due,” he said. Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan said the JFC would finalise its course of action after the committee of retired bureaucrats submits its report. “People will lose confidence in democracy if the assurances made by the Prime Minister in the Parliament are not implemented,” he said.

Meanwhile, the JFC filed an RTI application at the Centre seeking to know the promises made by the government in Parliament during bifurcation of the State and the progress of their implementation.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Pawan ropes in JP to pressure Centre

Concrete plan mooted to implement promises

Hyderabad: Jana Sena founder Pawan Kalyan called on Lok Satta founder Jayaprakash Narayan here on Thursday to discuss the promises made in Parliament at the time of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and the status of their implementation.

This development came a day after the actor-turned-politician announced his intentions to create a platform for bringing together a group of organisations and individuals to fight for fulfilment of promises.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, he said given its past track record, there was hope that the BJP government would work to implement promises made to AP at the time of bifurcation. Mr. Pawan Kalyan expressed concern over the contradictory statements being made on these promises.

He said that the meeting with Mr. Narayan marked the beginning of a process to forge a platform to mount pressure on the Centre. “It can be a joint action committee, think tank or a strategic group. It will evolve ways and means to represent the aspirations of the people,” he said.

Asked why there was delay in finalising the course of action for ensuring fulfilment of promises made more than three years ago, he said it was a sensitive issue related to the interests of the people.
“We have initiated the process for bringing together all the stakeholders and we will evolve steps to take the struggle forward,” he said.

Mr. Narayan said that while AP was assured a package on the lines of Bundelkhand at the time of bifurcation. Assessments had projected that the Centre would provide about ₹10,000 crore in assistance to the State. “The promises on tax exemptions too were not implemented, but given to other States with a changed terminology called additional budgetary support,” he said, alleging that the government was going by the technicalities, which in turn denied benefits assured to the State.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan said he would continue meeting like-minded people in the coming days for evolving a concrete plan and put pressure on the Centre.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Lok Satta chief attributes farm crisis to faulty policies of government

Surajya Yatra by Jayaprakash Narayan enters Krishna district

Vijayawada: Lok Satta chief Jayaprakash Narayan on Monday said that crisis in the farming sector was man-made and emphasised the poor and ineffective legislation as a reason for the agrarian imbroglio.

Speaking at the two-day Surajya Yatra that began in Krishna district, he said the indiscriminate import policies and unscientific fixation of minimum support prices were the reasons for the crisis in agriculture. “The crisis is not owing to nature.”

He said farmers were doing everything right by putting their heart, soul and money in cultivation but the governments were unable to provide them MSP owing to import compulsions.

He cited the examples of imports of cereals and edible oil which were affecting the local farmers. “The imports are invading the market thus pushing the local produce to the corner.”

He said his recent interaction with Guntur farmers brought to light the fact that the farmers were suffering not because of bad crop but owing to a bumper crop. ‘The MSP is very low and we are badly hit. Our yield is rotting as there was no proper provision of storage.”

The Lok Satta leader said the middlemen were a reason for the poor penetration of retail malls in the country as they (the malls) would directly take care of the farmers. “China is the best example. The country is full of such retail malls. The middlemen will lose their share and that is a reason they are preventing the entry in India.” Mr. Jayaprakash Narayana said that government spends ₹11,000 every day on various heads and most part of spending on unproductive manner.

Education

He said despite spending huge amount of money on government schools, the standard of education was abysmally low in Andhra Pradesh. “For example in a recent survey, it was brought to light that 69% government school students in East Godavari did not know how to divide a three digit number with a single digit number. Similarly, 42% of Class V students did not know how to read and comprehend a paragraph from Class II book.

He said more and more poor families were preferring to enter the portals of private schools even by taking loans for huge interest, Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan said that Surajya Yatra after successfully passing through various districts entered the Krishna district and a public meeting would be held at Machilipatnam on December 12.

“On December 14, a delegation will meet Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to offer suggestions on various issues like agriculture, health, education, trade, industries and women safety which are expenditure-free.”

Courtesy: The Hindu

Polavaram a lifeline for both A.P., TS, says JP

He asks Centre, State to work for its completion

Guntur: Stating that the Polavaram multi-purpose irrigation project is a lifeline to both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, founder of the Lok Satta N. Jayaprakash Narayan has urged the Union and the State governments to eschew their differences and expedite the completion of the national project.

Addressing the media here before launching the Surajya Yatra, Dr. Narayan said it was essential to complete the project by 2019 as it would meet the requirements of both the States.

“I call upon the Union and State governments to put an end to the game of political one-upmanship and expedite the completion of the project,” Dr. Narayan said.

Earlier, Dr. Narayan said he was undertaking the yatra to highlight the sufferings of people. Every year, six crore poor people were being added to the existing population, he added. As the ‘India Shining’ campaign gets shriller, the country was rapidly sliding down on all human development indices, he observed. Dr. Narayan also said he would meet Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on December 13 and apprise him of the issues faced by the people.

Later, Dr. Narayan visited the Government General Hospital here and interacted with the patients.

Courtesy: The Hindu