Politicians divide people on caste lines: Ram Madhav

The BJP General Secretary Quotes Nehru & Marx At ISB Meet

Hyderabad: BJP general secretary Ram Madhav seemed to be in a candid mood at a conference at the Indian School of Business (ISB) on Friday as he told the audience that politicians divide society, based on caste for electoral gains. He however added not all caste as an institution was not bad.

He also suggested forming a separate Election Commission cadre as part of electoral reforms to avoid political interference during elections, even as he quoted Jawaharlal Nehru and Karl Marx in his speech.

Speaking at the two-day 'Money power in politics – Indian democracy at work’ annual conference, Madav batted for a liberal democracy and liberal constitutionalism.

He observed that society could run on its own without the interference of the government for 90% of its affairs. According to him, government was needed only for 10% of the time.

He even said that it was ok to lose an election for sake of good governance.

“Indian society was never government-centric, but governments have increasingly made people heavily dependent on them," he said and added that power should be contained and regulated.

Madhav did not hesitate to quote India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during his speech. “Nehru was once asked why he was so fascinated by democracy,” he said. “He answered democracy was the second-best available form. He was against asked what the best form was. Nehru answered it was yet to be invented. We are following the best available form of democracy.”

He added, “In democracy, people are supposed to be masters. ‘Government of the people’ is being done, but ‘government for the people’ is partly true and ‘government by the people’ is not followed. The biggest challenge is to make democracy more liberal.”

Madhav quoting Karl Marx’s principle of the ‘withering away of the state’ said that that it is those who are in power who won't allow it to happen. He said Lenin refused to wither away the state as he enjoyed power.

“I am not saying we have to leave it to anarchy. There should be minimum interference of the government, that too at a local level.”

‘Caste is good, not casteism’

Speaking about the caste system, Ram Madhav said, “The previous varna system is gone but caste system exists in a different form. Caste is good. I am not propagating casteism in the country. As an institution, caste can do good for a community like many social and religious intermediaries. It was religious bodies that fed the hungry and not the kings those days. Once hunger is mitigated, every citizen can be productive.”

‘Need our own version of prez govt’

Ram Madhav believes that the country should slowly move towards its own version of a presidential form of government. “Politics today follows a highly incentivized model,” he said.

“The presidential system may disincentivize politics, but there are many other ways. Every new law made is bondage for the people. We should have laws that reduce responsibilities.”

Courtesy: The Times of India

‘Hyd declaration’ for curbs on money power in politics

After the two-day deliberations on ‘Money power in politics— Indian democracy at work’ at ISB, a ‘Hyderabad declaration’ was released enlisting steps to curb money power in politics. The conference organised by Foundation for Democratic Reforms (FDR) along with ISB and University of Hydrabad stressed on the need to disincentivise and deglamourise electoral office.

FDR president Jayaprakash Narayan said: “In recent decades, there has been an enormous increase of funds in political activity amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees. Realtors, land mafia, owners of educational institutions and big contractors make direct entry to gain access to the government. After the two-day deliberations, we came up with the Hyderabad declaration.”

According to the declaration, a concerted campaign should be taken up by civil society groups, Election Commission and citizens concerned on the consequences of money flooding into politics. The declaration also says that there is a need to strengthen and enforce legislations on political party funding and expenditure.

“There is no perfect electoral system. All electoral models have strengths and weaknesses. In the Indian context, elected legislators taking control of the fate of the government and becoming defector executives has led to competitive bidding for votes. Increasingly, a system of gift-giving to voters has developed. This has led to a vicious cycle of corruption, abuse of power and plutocracy,” said the declaration The conference said a national-level conversation on alternative electoral models is the need of the hour. Election commissioner Ashok Lavasa said that some pending suggestions made to strengthen the Election Commission would help address loopholes. He said at many meetings held by MHA, they did not discuss about electoral offences. He said state governments should investigate and prosecute the cases.

Courtesy: The Times of India

Strip Speakers of powers to decide on political defections

Several legal experts and political leaders on Sunday called for stripping judicial powers from Speakers of legislative Houses and entrusting them to the Election Commission, particularly in respect of the powers to decide pleas seeking disqualification of legislators who defect to other parties.

Declaring that this was not a new idea, they made it clear that the possibility of entrusting the EC with the job is included in the country's Constitution, in its Article 103 (2). Those who called for stripping speakers of some of their powers included eminent jurists like Justice B P Jeevan Reddy, retired judge of Supreme Court, former Supreme Court and the AP High Court judges, Justice B Sudarsan Reddy, Justice P Lakshmana Reddy and Justice B Seshasayana Reddy, former Union minister S Jaipal Reddy and Jayaprakash Narayan of Lok Satta.They spoke at a seminar on `Political Defections and Role of Speakers' organised by the Jana Vignana Vedika.

The consensus among the speakers at the meet was that it was time for the people to unite and hold ruling political parties accountable for their actions of encouraging political defections and efforts to eliminate any significant presence of opposition parti es. Several of the speakers also pointed out that the Law Commission has been asking the Parliament to enact such a law by amen ding the current statute in the Constitution.

Such a move, Justice Lakshmana Reddy said, is not meant to belittle the office of the Speaker. In fact, it would save the Speaker's office from being stuck in an uncomfortable position, he added.

Justice Jeevan Reddy went one step ahead and urged the people to debate the need for bringing in apolitical persons as speakers.Persons who are not members of any political party and persons who are not members of the either of the Houses, be it the Legislatue or the Council, should be brought in as speakers, he said.

Courtesy: The Times of India

Decentralisation of power needed for 'real democracy', says Loksatta chief

Chennai floods have exposed inefficient system prevailing in Tamil Nadu, Jayaprakash Narayan says

Lok Satta Party founder Jayaprakash Narayan on Sunday said the Tamil Nadu government is plagued with inefficiency, corruption and centralization.

Speaking at an event organized by ChennaiNext, a group of flood relief volunteers, Narayan said centralized administration prevailing in the state was one of the main reasons for the recent floods. "It's shameful that officials are not empowered to take decisions in a democratic system. The recent floods have exposed the inefficient system prevailing in Tamil Nadu", he said.

The bureaucrat -turned-politician said most elected representatives in the state considered votes a commodity. "People should have self-respect and keep away from such politicians. In the recent floods, Chennai has discovered the potential of youth who can bring about a change."

He said a political change from AIADMK and DMK would a take few more years. "This will not happen overnight, but there will be change if the youngsters who were involved in the relief work continue to keep up the good work."

R Elango, former president of, Kuthambakkam village panchayat, said, "Citizens should be involved in developmental work, including road laying to bring transparency. Self-sufficiency is the key for good governance and each households should be able to generate solar power and manage their waste."

He said educated families in the gated communities should not blame politicians for the mess. "They should ensure that waste water from their apartments will not pollute nearby water bodies."

D Jagadeeswaran of ChennaiNext said they had decided to ensure public participation in activities including waste management campaign and drainage work at ward level. "We hope that it will bring some accountability."

ChennaiNext facilitated volunteers of various NGOs who were involved in flood relief work.

Courtesy: The TImes of India

GHMC misappropriated funds

For the last six years, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has misappropriated funds to the tune of Rs 3,630 crore, alleged members of the Lok Satta Party, on Sunday.

"As much as Rs 451 crores lapsed because the former corporators, did not spend the money. In the last six years the civic officials collected as much as Rs 13,000 crores in terms of taxes, of which Rs 3,630 went into the pockets of bureaucrats and people's representatives", said B Sambi Reddy, general secretary, Lok Satta Party (GHMC). He also alleged that Rs 14 crores was spent on lavish lunch buffets and corporators' tours which did not serve any purpose. Sambi Reddy , insisted that instead of leaving the money in the hands of such corrupt officials, the workflow of the GHMC must be decentralised.

"Let the tax-payers be given the money so that they can decide on what and where to spend the money", he said.

Courtesy: The Times of India

GHMC spends Rs 5 k to vaccinate 1 dog!

The population of stray dogs in the city may be rising, but the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) says its veterinary programme has been successful. In fact, the corporation seems to have spent Rs 25 crore on vaccines for stray dogs.

However, in an RTI application, B Sambi Reddy, general secretary, Lok Satta Party, questioned the motive behind the GHMC spending Rs 25 crore to vaccinate 44,100 dogs since 2009 as part of its sterilisation and antirabies vaccination drive.

“When the market rate of the vaccine is around Rs 40, why has the civic body spent Rs 5,000 to sterilise one dog. The people of the city are at a loss to understand the expenditure patterns. Even if they incur expenditure as high as Rs 5,000, the population of dogs continues to be at an all-time high,“ Sambi Reddy rued.

He further said there have been 35,000 cases of dog bites in the last one year, out of which the victim died in 23 cases. Recently, stray dogs mauled a patient at the Gandhi Hospital. “There are as many as five lakh dogs feely roaming the streets in the GHMC limits. People of the city deserve to have this problem sorted out,“ he added.

Defending its expenditure, officials from the veterinary department of the GHMC said that they have not spent as much amount as shown in the RTI reply. “The expenditure that we have shown comprises purchase of vaccines, labour, vehicle and other charges. That is why the expenditure seems to be bloated,“ clarified P Venkateshwara Reddy, chief veterinary officer, veterinary wing, GHMC.

Courtesy: Times of India

Give 1 L to each family hit by flood

Modi victory a seminal event: Jayaprakash Narayan

Narendra Modi's ascension to the Prime Minister's throne is a seminal political event in the history of India — only the fourth since Jawaharlal Nehru's demise — feels Lok Satta chief Jayaprakash Narayan. And while the three previous occasions, he categorically states, were "largely wasted", JP believes that this one will certainly prove to be different.

"The first was in 1971 (Indira Gandhi's victory), the second in 1977 (when Emergency was dismantled) and the third in 1984, when an emotional outburst following Mrs Gandhi's assassination made way for Rajiv Gandhi to step in. Though all these events could have transformed India, they did nothing," he says. He also makes a mention of 1991, which "proved to be important economically", but he adds that "there was no real political mandate."

This time, the bureaucrat-turned-politician is hopeful of that happening. For, he believes that Modi and his team can "legitimately claim to have the mandate that is required to change the economic trajectory of India and create more jobs". "He [Modi] has primarily focused on employment and economic growth. His victory should be seen as the victory of this developmental approach and not the victory of any sectarian ideology," JP insists. And while reiterating the need for economic growth and job creation, he also draws attention to the lack of infrastructure, investment and poor state of the country's manufacturing sector. "My genuine hope and belief is that this (Modi's victory) will lead to a change," he says.

This faith in the soon-to-be Prime Minister, the veteran says, is also rooted in Modi's "repeated and public announcements" of addressing issues that his party has been highlighting since its inception. "From the beginning, we have been clear that we need four things. Firstly, a strong graded anti-corruption regime. Secondly, some serious judicial and police reforms so that the rule of law becomes the norm and not an exception. Thirdly, empowerment of local governments, particularly urban local governments, so as to make them work effectively and fourthly, overhauling of the political system so as to make the right kind of people electable and put a stop to buying of votes. Modi assures to address them all," he says.

What the new government at the Centre would also be expected to look into, according to JP, is the "reordering of public expenditure so as to increase the share of productive expenditures as opposed to freebies". "In Telangana, for instance, all parties have over-committed themselves on freebies (loan waivers etc) even before coming to power. But as a new state, which incidentally has surplus money, we need to use the funds constructively," elaborates the senior politician, who played a significant role in laying the economic foundation of both Telangana and Seemandhra.

"Unless we do that along with improving skills and making our labour policies, which are right now calculated to prevent employment, more flexible, we cannot address the issue of unemployment. We need to bring a lot more people into the formal organized sector as against increasing the number of contractual labourers," he adds.

It is for this "possibility of a fundamental change after 30 years (since 1984)" that JP feels all parties should "bury their hatchet" and come together. "Given that people have spoken so convincingly, I think we should provide all round support to the new government. As long as they fulfill the mandate, we must not take great delight in being obstructionists. If they deviate, then certainly all of us must oppose," he points out, though hinting at being almost certain of Modi & Co delivering what is expected of them.

JP is also sure of peace and harmony despite the rise of the right wing. "Over the last one year, Modi and his party have stayed away from a religious agenda. He hasn't emphasized on religious differences and has, instead, spoken the language of unity. Of course, we should be alert, but I think we can be certain of a secular progressive development-oriented agenda," the leader maintains.

Courtesy: Times of India

‘Not a closed chapter yet’ - Times of India

Hours before the deadline for filing the nominations Jayaprakash Narayan confesses that an alliance with 'team TDP-BJP' is still an option. But the Loksatta chief is clear on one thing: his party will not negotiate on its fundamentals to make it happen.

"There is certainly an impasse now, but it isn't a closed chapter yet. We will see if something can be worked out satisfactorily without us compromising on our dignity. But time is running out," says the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha candidate, who recently stormed out of the grand alliance to contest the seat independently . JP prefers not to dwell too much on the reasons for this 'break up'.

But ask him how he perceives the tie-up (TDP-BJP ), and prompt comes the response. "In one sense it is a natural alliance, because they are both anti-Congress and have worked together earlier. But in another sense, there seems to be some problem pertaining to seat sharing etc, so we don't know if they will be able to work in synergy," says the sitting Kukatpally MLA. As a footnote, he adds: "An alliance cannot be forged just for arithmetic convenience. There has to be some commonality and mutual respect."

The one he walked into, the political veteran explains, was for two reasons. "Firstly because we believe that immediately after the partition when sentiments run high and with so many new parties emerging every day, people would need clarity (on the roadmap ahead) not confusion. Secondly, there is a fear of votes being split. To counter these concerns we thought of exploring the idea of an alliance," he elaborates.

But while JP isn't sure about the future of this still-probably-partnership, he knows exactly what he wants to achieve, if elected to the Parliament. His three point agenda: To procure Rs 7,000 crore to revamp the city's infrastructure (with focus on storm-water drainage, sewerage and drinking water), create jobs especially in the manufacturing sector and protect the requirements of both the states, post bifurcation.

"I am almost absolutely certain that the next 10 years is the last window of opportunity for economic deliverance of India. And this can be tackled only through employment generation," the babu-turnedneta says.

JP has other plans too, but forming a government isn't one of them. "We (Loksatta) are contesting limited seats, predominantly in urban pockets. We are campaigning hard and with all honesty, because even a few voices in the legislature matter."

Courtesy: Times of India

Lok Satta to go it alone, contest for all seats

HYDERABAD: The Lok Satta Party will field its candidates in all the 294 constituencies in the 2009 elections to the Legislative Assembly.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Sunday, Lok Satta president Jayaprakash Narayan said that his party had decided to go it alone because no party was willing to conform to the minimum standards of political behaviour stipulated by the party.

The Lok Satta Party would like parties to pledge themselves against inducing voters with money and liquor and against fielding criminal and corrupt elements as candidates, and follow policies that treat people with respect and not as beggars.

JP said that the party would be releasing its first list of contestants for 30 seats on December 20 and for the remaining seats subsequently in batches.

Referring to the widespread revulsion against politics in the wake of the terrorist attack on Mumbai, JP said there was no point in running away from politics because politics alone shaped the country's future.

"If people of ill-gotten wealth or sons and daughters of politicians or criminals happened to rule the country it was because the people had voted for them. You reap as you sow. A solution to the present malaise lies in the best and the brightest plunging into politics," he said.

The Lok Satta Party, would provide give tickets to the brightest to contest the polls and would not look into caste or the pedigree or affluence of the applicant. Leadership qualities and credibility will be the only criteria, he added.

JP pointed out that traditional parties in Andhra Pradesh today would not field even a Barack Obama as their candidate because he does not have his own money of Rs 5 crore being demanded by the parties to splurge on vote buying and liquor distribution.

Money power and caste loyalties do have a sway over one-third of voters but the vast majority of voters are on the look-out for clean and competent candidates. Traditional political parties as also the media are perpetuating the dangerous and absurd myth that nobody can win an election without spending Rs 5 crore and polarising voters on caste lines.

However, most people are disgusted with traditional politics, and are seeking a clean break from the past, he added.

Courtesy: Times Of India

Lok Satta opposes Jamiat call for10 pc quota

HYDERABAD: Lok Satta Party on Monday opposed the demand for 10 per cent reservation to Muslims and other minorities in education and government
jobs made by Jamiat Ulama- e- Hind at the two-day meeting organised here on Sunday.

Addressing media, Lok Satta president Jayaprakash Narayan said the Supreme Court had imposed a cap of 50 per cent on reservation. " Even, if such a quota is feasible, experience shows that only well-educated and economically well-off sections were enjoying its fruits", he said.

He also felt that such demands would trigger social discord and the issue would be used for vote bank politics. Instead, he suggested that 10 per cent bonus marks in admission to higher educational institutions irrespective of caste and religion, would help the minorities. It was high time to organise an open debate on reservations, he said.

Welcoming the Jamiat declaration that terrorism was the biggest crime as per Quran, Jayaprakash said the acts of terror, violence and brutality were perpetrated against innocent citizens by criminals and fanatics and not by Hindus or Muslims. He said Jamiat statement was in consonance with "Wahabism" in Saudi Arabia which has declared that terrorism has no place in Islam.

Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Lok_Satta_opposes_Jamiat_call_for10_pc_quota/articleshow/3696529.cms

Lok Satta seeks probe into benami compensation

HYDERABAD: Lok Satta Party charged that some people's representatives in collusion with officials had drawn compensation in the names of benami farmers in the land acquisition for the proposed aluminium factory by the Jindals in Boddavara region of S. Kota mandal in Vizianagaram district causing a financial loss to the tune of Rs 10 crore to the government of the Rs 22.44 crore paid as compensation.

While some fake landholders managed to get huge compensation, some genuine farmers were paid only nominal or nil compensation, it said in a release.

A five-member committee headed by the party's Vizianagaram unit, Bhisetty Babji, had conducted an inquiry in which the irregularities came out and they submitted a report to party president Jayaprakash Narayan. Although he had forwarded the report to the chief minister on September 8 seeking an inquiry, no action has been taken.

Now the party has demanded an immediate inquiry into this and action against the guilty and justice to the displaced farmers.

According to the report, in five villages, 12 benami farmers were paid Rs 35 lakh as compensation. Further, it was paid only for a part of the land acquired from D patta holders. Even in their case, officials handed over cheques to brokers instead of landholders so that they could have their cut. B Memo land holders were not paid any compensation at all.

Moreover, there were no proper records concerning land acquisition. Also, the records available did not tally with one another and some records looked apparently newly forged, said the report.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Lok_Satta_seeks_probe_into_benami_compensation/articleshow/3686519.cms

Waiting for Mana Barack - Indiatimes 6th Nov 2008

HYDERABAD: As an African-American with a Muslim middle name and no political lineage but a sound academic record and a clear vision gets ready to be sworn in as the 44th President of United States of America, an obvious question that makes the rounds back home is, can Hyderabad have an Obama too? Someone who could break the barriers of caste, creed and religion to become the face of the state one day?

Well, the city throws up one name Jayaprakash Narayan as the closest to Obama but note that the man with his heart in place has not been unable to connect with the masses. Other than him, they say, there is no hope for an Obama in Hyderabad until educated citizens join politics.

Denizens believe that even if Lok Satta founder Jayaprakash Narayan managed to gather appreciation for his "clean'' political efforts so far, but has failed to appeal to the masses. "Sometimes only having a clear vision does not help. The leader is a visionary but has been unable to generate public following which is stopping him short of becoming the face of the state," feels Director of Centre for Indian Ocean Studies P V Rao, who feels that Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu scores on the mass appeal front.

English and Foreign Languages University Vice-Chancellor Abhay Maurya also agrees with Rao and says that there is perhaps no one but Jayaprakash Narayan with whom some parallel could be drawn. "He is an activist known for his integrity and honesty. He is the only one who has tried to do something different in the state. Even though he probably has no chance of victory he comes the closest to being the 'Obama' of our state," says Maurya.

While some feel that issues in both countries being very different from each other leave no room for comparison between their leaders there are some others who are in awe of the latest American hero but have lost all hopes of a similar figure back home. "Politics in our country is very dirty. There is a huge leadership crisis and, therefore, I do not see myself looking up to anyone in politics," admits J Krishnamurthi the vertical group manager of a leading firm in the city.

"Perhaps it is too early to expect something like this in our state or for that matter in our country," feels D T Vinod Kumar, president of the Architects Association. "We will need to bring about a radical change in the mindsets of politicians and general public to get a leader like Barack Obama here and this can be achieved only through education. However, these days even if educated people enter politics with good intentions they change in no time and become like the rest," he says.

However, amid all this complaining there are people like film producer Sudish Rambotla who are still optimistic and are of the opinion that it would not be long before India too could boast of an Obama or two. "Things are changing in politics these days. Parties are becoming more professional and searching for talent outside. Unlike in the past when young people abstained from entering politics because they thought it was full of murk, today I see a lot of them taking interest in the field and coming forward to be part of it," says a hopeful Rambotla.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Hyderabad/Waiting_for_Mana_Barack/articleshow/3678366.cms