Shanti & Prashant: The proposed Lokpal Bill of Delhi government is a “Jokepal”
The proposed Lokpal Bill of Delhi government is a “Jokepal”; a cruel joke with the people
One of the reasons of formation of the Aam Aadmi Party was to realize a long standing dream of an independent Lokpal, which would curb corruption and weed out corrupt elements out of the system. The dream seemed to be inching close when the Aam Aadmi Party achieved a resounding mandate in Delhi assembly but over nine months passed without any substantial progress on the promise. Under pressure due to unjustified delay, the Delhi cabinet has now passed a Delhi Janlokpal Bill, 2015 to be presented in the assembly.
The proposed Delhi Janlokpal Bill, 2015 is a cheating with the people of Delhi and the Lokpal movement. Following are the reasons:
Appointment of the Lokpal:
i) The section 3(1)a of the Delhi Janlokpal Bill, 2015 says that the selection committee would consist of High Court Chief Justice, the Chief Minister, Assembly Speaker and leader of Opposition. It makes it very clear that the AAP government wants the appointment of Lokpal to be controlled by political class and would not let any appointment be made without the approval of ruling party.
Promise: The Janlokpal bill had envisioned that the appointments be made independent of the will of political class, but the provision in the present bill cheats the spirit of an independent Janlokpal. Out of the four members in selection committee, three would be from the political class. This is completely contrary to what Arvind Kejriwal has had always said about the independence of Lokpal.
Removal of Chairperson or members of the Janlokpal:
ii) As per the provisions mentioned in section 6(1) of the proposed bill, the Lokpal can be removed by a motion passed by the Delhi assembly by 2/3rd majority of the members present and voting in the assembly. Needless to say, if the act sees the light of the day, the Lokpal will be completely at the mercy of AAP government.
Promise: We had always argued that the anti-corruption & investigating agencies end up becoming instruments in the hands of ruling governments, so an effective Lokpal needs to be delinked from interference of ruling governments and political control. It is sad to see the AAP bringing a bill which would ultimately leave the Lokpal at the mercy of Delhi government, making it a joke.
No Independent Investigative Machinery
iii) No investigative machinery has been given to or placed under Lokpal as per section 10 in the proposed bill. Without its own independent officers, solely recruited for and dedicated to the institution, the Lokpal would merely be like the various other commissions and tribunals. This effectively means that the Lokpal will have to carry its investigations through officers and machinery provided by governments. Needless to say the investigating officers would obviously be under the control of those governments which provide it.
Promise: The Janlokpal movement had always stressed that investigating officers should be free of the influence or control of any government. It was argued that no less than an independent investigative machinery vested with the institution of Lokpal would be effective in curbing corruption.
Jurisdiction of the Lokpal:
iv) As per the present bill, jurisdiction of the Lokpal would be to investigate any corruption offence in Delhi, be it various agencies and functions under the central government. It means that the state Lokpal can investigate the central government as well.
Promise: This is totally contrary to what was envisaged in our Jan Lokpal bill where the state Lokayukta were supposed to investigate the corruption of officers of state governments only and the Central Lokpal would investigate the officers from central government. This provision has been introduced with malafide intentions to ensure that the central government does not approve and the bill never gets passed. The AAP will then claim that it tried to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill but the central government obstructed it.
Penalty on false complaints:
v) This bill prescribes 1 yr jail for false complaints, the falsity of which will be decided by this ‘sarkari lokpal’.
Promise: This is also what we had fought against since it will deter complainants. It is not there in the Uttarakhand bill which Kejriwal said this is modeled on.
We can now understand why this draft was not made public, to enable public consultation and comments. The plan was to pass this Maha joke pal bill with a dramatic flourish and then play victim by claiming that the Central govt is obstructing it.
The Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015 is not what the anti-corruption Lokpal movement had fought so deeply for. It is merely an eyewash and not the bill which made thousands and thousands volunteer for a crusade against corruption. The present bill to be tabled in the assembly is no less a cheating with the people of Delhi. In fact, the present bill is worse than the central government’s Jan Lokpal Bill, against which the present Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had spoken so vehemently. “Leave alone ministers, not even a rat will go to jail on the basis of this Bill. No proper investigation will be possible under it,” Kejriwal had said in December 2013 regarding a proposed legislation by the central government while terming it a “Jokepal Bill”
– We would would like to know what compelled the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to now bring the Jokepal bill, which he had once fought against?
– Does he now believe that a corrupt rat will go to jail on the basis of this new bill?
– How would he guarantee that the proposed Lokpal will not end up becoming his political instrument against opponents/ for corruption, as is the case with institutions like CBI or CVC?
If at all it passes, which is unlikely, the Lokpal will be no more than an instrument under the control of Delhi government with jurisdiction over central government as well. Thus, the Bill is designed in a way not to be cleared by the central government, so that Arvind Kejriwal can claim that the Central government is obstructing it. It seems a dirty political game between Aam Aadmi Party and BJP is in the offing in the name of Lokpal.
Note – We’ve attached with this email a copy of the original Janlokpal Bill, the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill, the Lokpal & Lokayuktas Act, 2013 and the one slated to be presented in Delhi assembly, for you to compare for yourself how much the Aam Aadmi Party and its supremo has digressed from its promise on Lokpal.
Shanti Bhushan
Prashant Bhushan
|
| CPR is pleased to invite you to a panel discussion Bihar, Bahar, and Beyond: An Analysis of the 2015 Bihar Election Monday, 30 November 2015, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. |
| Neelanjan Sircar, Ghanshyam Tiwari, and Bhanu Joshi |
| Conference Hall, Centre for Policy Research |
 |
Panel Description: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept to power in the 2014 national election. The NDA performed particularly well in Bihar, winning 172 out of 243 assembly constituency segments in 2014. In the 2015 Bihar state election, just 18 months later, the NDA won only 58 assembly constituencies. What explains this precipitous drop in the NDA’s popularity in such a short time? Combining data analysis, perspectives from the ground, and views from within political parties, this panel seeks to provide an answer to this question. The panelists will also discuss larger narratives emerging from this historic election and their implications for politics across India.
Speakers:
Neelanjan Sircar
Neelanjan Sircar is based at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) in Delhi. His research interests include voting behaviour in India, as well as statistical methods for analyzing political data. With colleagues Bhanu Joshi and Ashish Ranjan, Neelanjan wrote a series of articles in The Hindu, and longer analyses with CPR, while conducting qualitative field research during the election in Bihar. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics from UC Berkeley in 2003, and a PhD in Political Science from Columbia University in 2014.
Ghanshyam Tiwari
Ghanshyam Tiwari, spokesperson JD(U), holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School and BE in Electrical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Surathkal. He is passionate about driving social change through better public leadership, governance and technology. He has worked in chip design, corporate strategy, development policy, and public leadership in USA and India over 15 years for Texas Instruments and Intel, McKinsey & Co., London School of Economics, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Janata Dal (United) in Bihar. More recently, he worked on public campaigns in education, skill development and culture.
Bhanu Joshi
Bhanu Joshi is a research associate at CPR. His current research focuses on governance issues, particularly around politics and institutions of urban areas. His work has also looked at laws governing urban areas and their interaction with the 74th Constitutional Amendment, 1992 (“Decentralisation Act”). Bhanu is also interested in understanding electoral politics in India, with the recently concluded Bihar elections being his first foray in this field. |
|
PerformanceGurus November 26, 2015
Eurobia – Dealing with it
In the last two centuries Europe colonised countries in Africa and Asia and now Karma is hitting them.
The renowned historian Neil Ferguson compares the fall of Rome in the 5th century to the decline/ fall of Europe now.
Gibbon’s “History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire” represented Rome’s demise as a slow burn over a millennium.
Gibbon’s “History of the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire” represented Rome’s demise as a slow burn over a millennium. But a new generation of historians, such as Bryan Ward-Perkins and Peter Heather, have raised the possibility that the process of Roman decline was in fact sudden — and bloody —rather than smooth: a “violent seizure. . . by barbarian invaders” that destroyed a complex civilization within the span of a single generation.
Uncannily similar processes are destroying the European Union today, though few of us want to recognize them for what they are.
Let us be clear about what is happening. Like the Roman Empire in the early fifth century, Europe has allowed its defences to crumble. As its wealth has grown, so its military prowess has shrunk, along with its self-belief. It has grown decadent in its shopping malls and sports stadia. At the same time, it has opened its gates to outsiders who have coveted its wealth without renouncing their ancestral faith.
Europe was 25% of the world population during the First World War.
Now it is around 10% and expected to decline to 3% by 2050. But the influx of refugees from all parts of Islamic countries will change the demography dramatically in the next 20/ 30 years. In every European country now the Islam population is around 12 to 15%.
The youth unemployment rate is at an abnormal level in Europe. In Britain the rate is 16.9 percent. The comparable rate for Americans is 12.2 percent in 2014. Most of them do not have skills.
The youth unemployment rate is at an abnormal level in Europe. In Britain the rate is 16.9 percent. The comparable rate for Americans is 12.2 percent in 2014. Most of them do not have skills.
Important: Youth Unemployment rate in Europe as on 2014
Country
|
Percentage
|
Spain
|
53.2
|
Greece
|
52.4
|
Portugal
|
34.8
|
Italy
|
53.2
|
Euro area
|
22.3
|
References:
The level of unemployment with huge influx of refugees is a sure cocktail for violence and conflicts
We have been telling since 2013 that…
The root cause of the issue is the attempt in Europe to nationalise families and privatise business.
The root cause of the issue is the attempt in Europe to nationalise families and privatise business. Old age issue/ health issues/ child care issues are all normal family activities that have been taken over by the state and the state is broke. Funded security schemes are facing crisis since not enough numbers are getting in to labour force due to low reproductive rates and unfunded security system is in difficulty since taxes are not adequate due to low population growth.
Coupled with economic and demographic crisis is the crisis of civilisation in Europe. It has renounced the Church and has become secular. Church attendance has fallen significantly and churches have become tourist attractions rather than places of worship.
Most of the migrants, particularly those doing ‘brown colour work’ – like garbage removal, cleaning plates in restaurant, porter jobs, and grape-picking — are people from Mauritania/ Somalia/ Algeria etc. and most are Muslims by faith. Due to a high degree of employment, there is resentment against migrants and this anger is turning into anger against Muslims. Added to this is the new front started by France in Mali to fight Islamic fundamentalists. Africa may become a new Vietnam for Europe.
Europe is sitting on a time bomb and any small spark could ignite it. Remember that all conflicts in the last 2000 years have started in Europe and became ‘world’ conflicts. India has already given $10 billion or Rs 56,000 crore in 2010 – nearly one per cent of GDP at that time to help Europe. Not a single European paper or leader has thanked us openly. One can only hope that we need not give more of our GDP or become cannon fodder in Anglo-Saxon conflicts.
But let us be clear. Europe has lost the will to fight. It has grown decadent in its pubs and sports stadiums and malls. It is effete and can’t fight the third son of Abraham. It is not the Christian Europe to wage a crusade but a liberal modern agnostic confused Europe to fight a war against an enemy it will never name or accept.
Islamists are against all that Europe upholds — Homosexuality to pre-marital sex to multiple unwed partners.
Hence when Eurobia is formed by demography or war – the role of India should be tokeep quiet. It is not our war and in the two world wars – which was also not ours — we lost thousands of our soldiers and are yet to be compensated.
Hence when Eurobia is formed by demography or war – the role of India should be tokeep quiet. It is not our war and in the two world wars – which was also not ours — we lost thousands of our soldiers and are yet to be compensated.
The prize British gave was partition.
Let us not forget that when the then Bombay was ravaged by the barbarians of Pakistan-planned and executed by Pakistan- the western powers just made a cursory / standard sympathy statements. Eiffel Tower was not lighted with colours of Indian flagand actually after that more billions were given to Pakistan by US to terrorise us.
Let us be clear. If we can have relations with Saudi Arabia — which is Barbaria in practice – nothing can prevent us having relationship with Eurobia. Our interests are more importance to us than that of Europe or the US.
Views Personal
______________________
R.VAIDYANATHAN
PROFESSOR OF FINANCE
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANGALORE
INDIA_560076
TEL: 91-80-2699-3086
FAX:91-80-2658-4050
e mail:vaidya@iimb.ernet.in
November 27, 2015
Dear Colleague,
FICCI R&D Awards 2015
@
GLOBAL R&D SUMMIT 2015
Leveraging International Cooperation to boost Indian Innovation Ecosystem
December 7-8, 2015
Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
In order to identify and acknowledge cutting-edge R&D happening in India across industry, academia and government research establishments, and create an open, equitable and competitive environment for institutions and professionals to engage with each other, FICCI is proud to present itssecond edition of the annual R&D Award – ‘FICCI R&D Award 2015’ in concurrence with Global R&D Summit 2015.
Nominations for this award are currently being solicited from established Indian institutions and enterprises under public/private/corporate/non-profit entities through the summit website www.ficcirndsummit.com. Last date for filling nominations is November 30, 2015.
Conceptualized and commissioned under the aegis of FICCI National Committee on S&T and Innovation, this will be one of the most coveted and sought-after annual award for corporates, academic institutions, government labs and professionals working in research and development across various sectoral domain.
FICCI R&D Awards 2015 will recognize the best and brightest of research projects and real innovations that has come out of Indian research establishments over last one year. It will have a distinct criterion for nomination that will allow only serious and substantive players to compete through a multi-layer selection process with eminent jury members drawn from across disciplines.
Nominations for this award will be accepted from all sectors, disciplines and areas of basic and applied research, including but not limiting to broad categories such as – Agriculture, Biotech, Pharma, Healthcare, Chemicals, Advanced Materials, Alternative Energy, Automotive, Telecom, IT, Electronics etc.
Best Regards,
Nirankar Saxena
Division / Sector : BISNET, ATA Carnet & Commercialization of Innovation, Disaster Management, Science & Technology, Innovation
FICCI
Industry’s Voice for Policy Change
Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi 110 001
M: 9810884432 (Mr Abhishek Sahay)
Hero Hockey World League Final 2015
Argentina 3, India 0.
Penalty corner expert Gonzalo Peillat scored twice as Argentina claimed a 3-0 over host nation India in the opening match of the men’s Hero Hockey World League Final 2015 in Raipur, India.
Following a vibrant, colourful and entertaining opening ceremony, a large crowd turned out to witness the host nation in action.
However, it was Argentina’s Leones (Lions) that came away with all three points in this Pool B encounter.
The team coached by Carlos Retegui were in excellent form in the opening two quarters of the match, establishing a 2-0 lead ahead of half time.
Prolific goal-scorer Peillat opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a deflected penalty corner rocket that left Indian shot-stopper P.R. Sreejesh stranded, before Joaquin Menini scored from close range with another set piece.
Despite a powerful Rupinder Pal Singh shot being cleared off the line, Argentina were well worth their lead and continued to play excellent hockey in the third and fourth quarters.
Eventually, a third goal arrived, with Peillat grabbing his second with a penalty corner drag-flick that sailed into the roof of the net in overtime.
Hero Man of the Match: Agustin Mazzilli (ARG)
Dear Naresh Kumar Sagar,
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TravelShop Turkey 2005 – 2015
