| An Open Letter to Sri Anna Hazare Smt Aruna Roy , Smt. medha patkar and Sri Manmohan Singh Right now nation is in the grip of anti-corruption drive. This is nothing but the public anger against the system which is spilling out on the streets with media going into overdrive . Seemingly , the followers of honesty are full of unquestioning faith and euphoria, and they are swearing to die for honesty or we can say fight against corruption . To be successful in true sense , a drive should be based on truth , moral force , humility , non-violence , peace apart from it being subjective and compassionate . There is dire need of a panel of expert in each constituency of parliament who should be well acquainted with the shortcomings of the government's version of Lokpal . They should be ready with a feasible alternative of each and every shortcoming . Its our duty to dispel any sort of ignorance / misinformation and imbibe moral force with humility in creating a change of heart of the target section of the society. To get the good legislation through campaign, a more conciliatory approach shall be needed .Our aim is to make a dent in the problem of corruption and not to destabilize the parliament in any way. More focus should be on tight implementation of the key provisions of the legislation. We all are seeing the pathetic state of RTI act all across the nation and in each state because of the poor implementation of its key provisions. In India Constitution is Supreme and is above Parliament .Courts in India have the authority to strike down laws passed by the parliament if the judiciary feels that the law goes against the basic principles of the Constitution of India .So Parliament is NOT Supreme in India . It is the Constitution of India which is Supreme and judiciary is established to ensure that both executive and legislative function without violating the principles of the Constitution. Keeping this in mind Higher judiciary should be out of ambit of Lokpal. There is no provision for a referendum in the Constitution,but the statute doesn't explicitly bar them either. After all Public referendums are actually an integral part of any real democracy. Governments should do only what the people of the country want it to do. Some may say that it shall involve large amount of time and money but for an issue like corruption , this is immaterial. The government should hold a national public referendum across the country on the sticking points of the Lokpal and see what the people actually want on controversial points i.e. (i) Prime Minister should be under Lok Pal scanner even during his term in office. (ii) Judiciary, MLAs, MPs, bureaucrats, clerks, peons etc should all be under the same authority. (iii) Life imprisonment should be awarded for corruption (iv) appointment procedure of Lokpal members etc. Lokpal should be elected by whole of the nation . Eligibility for lokpal should also be decided by the referendum. Pending any decision on referendum , Any of all the M.P.s who has a clear conscience should immediately introduce Jan Lokpal Bill as a private members bill. Then both the bills be referred to the Parliamentary standing committee which should get advice from experts,including those from Civil Society .The committees final view should be processed for further action as detailed herewith. After the outcome of the referendum , the result of the referendum should prevail. We all know the process how a bill becomes an act . A Bill is the draft of a legislative proposal. It has to pass through various stages before it becomes an Act of Parliament. The initial stage is First Reading of the bill . The legislative process starts with the introduction of a Bill in either House of Parliament-Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. A Bill can be introduced either by a Minister or by a private member. In the former case it is known as a Government Bill and in the latter case it is known as a Private Member's Bill. It is necessary for a member-in-charge of the Bill to ask for leave to introduce the Bill. If leave is granted by the House, the Bill is introduced. This stage is known as the First Reading of the Bill. If the motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed, the Speaker may, in his discretion, allow brief explanatory statement to be made by the member who opposes the motion and the member-in-charge who moved the motion. Where a motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed on the ground that the Bill initiates legislation outside the legislative competence of the House, the Speaker may permit a full discussion thereon. Thereafter, the question is put to the vote of the House. However, the motion for leave to introduce a Finance Bill or an Appropriation Bill is forthwith put to the vote of the House. After a Bill has been introduced, it is published in the Official Gazette. Even before introduction, a Bill might, with the permission of the Speaker, be published in the Gazette. In such cases, leave to introduce the Bill in the House is not asked for and the Bill is straightaway introduced. After a Bill has been introduced, Presiding Officer of the concerned House can refer the Bill to the concerned Standing Committee for examination and make report thereon. If a Bill is referred to Standing Committee, the Committee shall consider the general principles and clauses of the Bill referred to them and make report thereon. The Committee can also take expert opinion or the public opinion who are interested in the measure. After the Bill has thus been considered, the Committee submits its report to the House. The report of the Committee, being of persuasive value shall be treated as considered advice given by the Committees. The Second Reading consists of consideration of the Bill which is in two stages. The first stage consists of general discussion on the Bill as a whole when the principle underlying the Bill is discussed. At this stage it is open to the House to refer the Bill to a Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses or to circulate it for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon or to straightaway take it into consideration. If a Bill is referred to a Select/Joint Committee, the Committee considers the Bill clause-by-clause just as the House does. Amendments can be moved to the various clauses by members of the Committee. The Committee can also take evidence of associations, public bodies or experts who are interested in the measure. After the Bill has thus been considered, the Committee submits its report to the House which considers the Bill again as reported by the Committee. If a Bill is circulated for the purpose of eliciting public opinion thereon, such opinions are obtained through the Governments of the States and Union Territories. Opinions so received are laid on the Table of the House and the next motion in regard to the Bill must be for its reference to a Select/Joint Committee. It is not ordinarily permissible at this stage to move the motion for consideration of the Bill. The second stage of the Second Reading consists of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill as introduced or as reported by Select/Joint Committee. Discussion takes place on each clause of the Bill and amendments to clauses can be moved at this stage. Amendments to a clause have been moved but not withdrawn are put to the vote of the House before the relevant clause is disposed of by the House. The amendments become part of the Bill if they are accepted by a majority of members present and voting. After the clauses, the Schedules if any, clause 1, the Enacting Formula and the Long Title of the Bill have been adopted by the House, the Second Reading is deemed to be over. Thereafter, the member-in-charge can move that the Bill be passed. This stage is known as the Third Reading of the Bill. At this stage the debate is confined to arguments either in support or rejection of the Bill without referring to the details thereof further than that are absolutely necessary. Only formal, verbal or consequential amendments are allowed to be moved at this stage. In passing an ordinary Bill, a simple majority of members present and voting is necessary. But in the case of a Bill to amend the Constitution, a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting is required in each House of Parliament. After the Bill is passed by one House, it is sent to the other House for concurrence with a message to that effect, and there also it goes through the stages described above except the introduction stage. Its not that only MPs/Ministers at Centre are Pro-Corruption . M.L.A.s / Ministers of State governments are even more corrupt . More or less , all politicians are corrupt irrespective of the party , they are with right now . With so many defections and changeovers like monkey-jumps no one is able to identify as to who started from where and passed through which passage. We are seeing the present only . As such there is no ideology of today's politicians. So, The need is to direct a movement against all M.P.s and M.L.A.s of all constituencies . As citizen of India it is our dharma to first question ourselves and then to all our leaders and hold them to high ethical standards. We cannot have high benchmarks of accountability for politicians, and no benchmarks for ourselves. So instead of sitting on dharnas against the central government , we should mobilize the people first to practice high ethical standards for themselves from the day and then shift their focus against the M.P. of their constituency not only to mount pressure on him to support the required Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament but also to practice high ethical standards in all his future ventures. There should be an open demand that the fast shall not be broken until n unless there is a written commitment from the respective M.P. that he shall not only support the required Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament but also practice high ethical standards in all his future ventures. Yes , anti defection law,party whip etc. etc. are there . We know many a cases where M.P.s have gone against party whip , have defected their parties for their own selfish motive so this time why can't they do this for the people of their own constituency. After all they are in Parliament because of them ( The people ) . If they do it once this time , maybe they shall be in parliament forever. Please correct me if I am wrong . But please take collective concrete steps at your end to have everlasting effect apart from the Jan Lokpal. Date – 20-08-11 With Regards. Urvashi Sharma Secretary -YAISHWARYAJ SEVA SANSTHAN F-2376 , Rajajipuram , Lucknow – 226017 Mobile-9369613513,9455553838,8081898081 Note : A recent news is being given here . Can we infer as to which party is free from corrupts ? of course not . Then why not shift the movement to respective MPs? The peak of irony was when Anna was, allegedly, lodged in the same jail that housed the people who were responsible for two of the biggest scams in the country ever. How must the authorities have felt when they saw Raja and Kalmadi fill their plates while Anna was on a fast because of their misdeeds? Corruption has become an unavoidable part of politics and every now and then, one or the other politician re-affirms this fact. Here is our pick of the 10 most corrupt politicians of India. Suresh Kalmadi Suresh Kalmadi, almost single handedly caused a loss of hundreds of crores of rupees to the country. The Commonwealth Games, organized by Kalmadi was no less than a loot with numerous reports of the magnum opus event being soaked in corruption making headlines way before the Games had even started. Apparently, out of Rs. 70000 crores spent on the Games, only half of the amount was actually spent. Owing to his involvement in the scam, Kalmadi was charged with corruption and sent to Tihar jail. A. Raja A scam worth Rs. 176,000 crore had former Union Cabinet Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Andimuthu Raja at the centre. A. Raja as he is generally called, was the prime accused in the 2G spectrum scam, which was the largest that the country had seen in a long time. Following the shocking exposure, Raja was indicted and forced to resign. Presently, he is too has been lodged at the Tihar jail and is awaiting his trial. Mayawati Mayawati has always been criticized for ostentatious display of power in her state. She has allegedly used her status as chief minister to amass large amounts of personal wealth. She was charged with corruption when the Taj Heritage Corridor Case was uncovered. Mayawati's birthdays have always been media events, where she usually appears decked in diamond jewellery and also accepts public donations for which, she often comes under fire. Her assets are worth millions of dollars and in the year 2007-08, she had paid an income tax of Rs. 26 crores, which placed her amongst the top 20 taxpayers of the year. Lalu Prasad Yadav The fact that Lalu Prasad Yadav has been an accused in 63-odd cases serves for the fact that Lalu stands as one of the strongest competitor in the list. The biggest scam that rocked Lalu's political career was the fodder scam which involved the embezzlement of Rs. 950 crore approximately. The accusation of nepotism against him has come up time and again but hardly any action has been taken against him owing to his 'connections' in the government. Madhu Koda Former Jharkand Chief Minister, and only the third independent legislator to assume the office of chief minister in India, Madhu Koda was responsible for a scam worth over Rs. 4000 crore. The man exploited the state's natural resources by licensing illegal mining leases and stashing away the wealth amassed during the undertaking. Furthermore, the Maoists received a 30% share of the booty. Koda was arrested on charges of money laundering and is still in prison following the rejection of numerous bail applications. Mulayam Singh Yadav Mulayam Singh Yadav is also known as one of the most corrupt ministers in the country despite not being directly involved in any major scams. Apart from his name being involved in appointments of tainted officers and mishandling of his power as chief minister, Mulayam Singh had one major allegation levelled against him– accumulation of disproportionate assets. The case drew limelight on his sons and daughter-in-law as they too were holders of the assests that amounted to crores of rupees. Karunanidhi The corruptions charges against M. Karunanidhi are so many that he is often referred to as the king or emperor of corruption. He was accused of lending support to the LTTE and was indicted for abetting the LTTE in the interim report which oversaw the investigation into Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. Karunanidhi reportedly institutionalized corruption in the South. He was a leading player in the cash for votes scams that are common in the southern region, as well as notorious foe extreme nepotism shown under his rule. Not so surprising, is the fact that the main accused in the 2G scam, A, Raja, considers him to be his mentor. Sharad Pawar Very few people can miss the cosy relationship that Sharad Pawar shares with power and money.Every now and then, Pawar draws flak for alleged investments made by him and his family in various illegal projects. He was named by Abdul Karim Telgi, during a narcoanalysis test, stating that it was Pawar's brainchild to print fake stamp papers across the country and mint money. He was also accused in a multi-crore scam involving wheat imports and institutions headed by him and his close associates were served notices by the Bombay High Court for showing favoritism to his family. Jayalalithaa The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has a staggering 46 corruption cases against her. Amongst the various scams were the Rs. 70 million coal import scam, Tansi land deal case, case of disproportionate assets and colour TV case, amongst many others. A raid in her residence and business establishments led to the seizure of some 28 kg of jewellery (worth Rs 51 crore), 91 wrist-watches, 41 air-conditioners, 10,500 sarees, 750 pairs of footwears, etc. She along with her former cabinet colleagues and senior bureaucrats who worked with her are still facing investigation with regard to corruption. BS Yeddyurappa The most recent politician http://www.mensxp.com/special-features/top-10/5458-meet-the-top-10-young-politicians-of-india.html to be caught in the web of corruption is former Chief Minister of Karnataka, B. S. Yeddyurappa. While he has a number of corruption lying against him, the one that toppled his career was his alleged involvement in the illegal iron ore export scam in districts of Karnataka. A lot of blame game followed and ended up with Yeddyurappa losing his ministerial post last month. Despite his denial, his image as one of the most corrupt politicians of the country will not fade anytime soon. ( MensXP.com)
- Urvashi Sharma
yaishwaryah.seva.sansthan@gmail.com
http://yaishwaryaj-seva-sansthan.hpage.co.in/
http://yaishwaryaj-seva-sansthan.blogspot.com/
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