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Showing posts from October, 2015

State Election Commission, Gujarat, can’t take away the right to NOTA

By Rohit Prajapati, Dipti Bhatt, Krishnakant* Gujarat State is an integral part of Indian state. We are shocked to learn from the Press Note dated October 23, 2015 of the State Election Commission (SEC) that it has in effect decided to deny the citizen the right to exercise None of the Above (NOTA), thereby denying in effect denied the citizen’s the right of NOTA during the forthcoming civic polls to take place in November 2015. The SEC has taken away the right to exercise NOTA referring to the legal proceedings in the High Court of Gujarat – Special Civil Application No. 13552 of 2015. It is clear that there are two possibilities in this scenario. Firstly, either the Gujarat State Election Commission has willfully misinterpreted the Gujarat High Court’s order of August 21, 2015 and decided to remove the right to exercise NOTA. Or secondly, that High Court of Gujarat has granted the stay to the Supreme Court’s larger bench judgment dated September 27, 2013 in Writ Petition (Civil) No 1

File RTIs to know Vohra committee on politician-babu-corporate-ciminal nexus

By Venkatesh Nayak* On October 27, 2015, a popular English language TV news channel debated the issue of disclosure of Annexures to the NN Vohra Committee report. This 1993 report authored by the then Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs and currently Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) examined the issue of the criminal-politician-businessman-bureaucrat nexus and suggested several measures to clean up the system including the establishment of a Nodal Agency to investigate such nexus. The report was tabled in Parliament on August 1, 1995, after opposition parties compelled the Indian National Congress-led Government under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to so do in the aftermath of the gruesome murder of a young woman by her politician husband – notorious as the Tandoor murder case (or the Naina Sahni murder). The latest round of debate on the aforementioned TV news channel focuses on the alleged Annexures to the Vohra Committee report which was not sha

How forces of evil have plunged deadly weapon into the heart of India today

By Fr Cedric Prakash sj* Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami) is once again here and will be celebrated with traditional pomp and gaiety all over the country. It is a moment for every Indian to spend some time reflecting on the significance of the festival and ask ourselves whether we have truly internalised the meaningful values which this great festival embodies. On Dussehra, we celebrate the triumph of good over evil; of how Lord Ram defeats the demon king Ravan who typifies all that is evil. India’s great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata provide us with gripping narratives of the festival. We need to look around today to see how the forces of evil seem to have plunged a deadly weapon into the heart of India. In Faridabad two innocent dalit children are burnt alive by the higher castes; in Dadri, a man is lynched because of some rumours that he ate beef; in Mumbai, a motley group of Shiv Sainiks violently hold the State to ransom and prevent the improving of relations with Pakistan; in

RTI pleas don't require submission of identity proof in Centre or states

By Venkatesh Nayak* Rumour has it that the Registries of some Information Commissions established under The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) are returning 2nd appeals and complaints submitted by aggrieved citizens without admitting them on the ground that proof of identity of the appellant/complainant has not been attached. This action is being taken purportedly under the influence of a judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court delivered in 2012.. Is identity proof required at the RTI application stage? Nothing in the RTI Act passed by Parliament or the RTI Rules notified by the Central Government or most of the State Governments require an applicant to submit proof of identity or address along with the RTI application. In the case of State Governments, the lone exception that I can remember is that of Odisha which has stubbornly retained this requirement of proving one’s identity at the RTI application stage despite sustained and very vocal protests from civil society and

Murder of RTI activist in Gujarat, tom-tommed for great governance

Villagers wait for body of slain RTI activist By Venkatesh Nayak* The print and electronic media have reported the recent murder of right to information (RTI) activist Ratansinh Chaudhary, aged 30, in Garamdi village in Suigam taluka of Banaskantha district, Gujarat, on October 17, 2015. This is the eighth instance of murder of an RTI activist in Gujarat, second only to Maharashtra in this dubious distinction. Four residents of the village are said to have accosted him and his son while he was walking in his farm and hit him on the head repeatedly, with stout sticks, resulting in his death. Registering an FIR on the basis of the complaint the deceased’s father, the police has identified all four perpetrators and is investigating the circumstances in which the murder occurred. According to media reports, Ratansinh had demanded information from the District Collector and the District Development Officer (DDO) about the manner of distribution of flood relief package in his area recently

PIO will have to attest certified copies sought by RTI applicants

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) – the nodal department for implementing The Right to Information Act, 2005(RTI Act) in the Government of India has uploaded two important documents on its website. The DoPT has issued reasonably detailed guidance for Public Information Officers (PIOs) to help them send better drafted replies to RTI applicants. Every PIO is now required to include in his.her reply- the office number given to the request, name and contact details of the PIO including email address, detailed reasons invoking the relevant provisions of access to information is denied, name and contact details of the appellate authority whom the applicant may approach with a grievance within 30 days of receipt of the reply. This advisory is an outcome of the consultation on the subject that the DoPT launched in March this year. This guidance also includes instructions as to how certified copies may be issued under the RTI Act by the PIO on request. The PIO

For a disciple of Jesus, ‘ban culture’ should be something one should desist

By Fr Cedric Prakash sj* One of the most enduring and memorable scenes for a disciple of Jesus is that of the ‘Last Supper’ which takes place on the evening before the crucifixion of Jesus. Several things take place during this very moving event: Jesus institutes what is regarded as the ‘mandamus’ (the mandate): “Love one another”, he reminds those around the table “as I have loved you”. Jesus goes down on his knees and washes the feet of each of his disciples. He is fully aware that one of them Judas Iscariot will betray him shortly; however, he does not leave out Judas nor does he ‘ban’ him from the happenings of that eventful night. He washes the feet of Judas and he willingly shares with Judas the bread and the cup and while doing so he says, “The one who shared my bread has risen against me” (Jn13:18). In his life on earth, Jesus very clearly shows us that his mission was inclusive. He welcomed sinners of every kind: those who exploited others to those who were adulterous. In all

India best business destination, but with extreme lag in social sector: Western report

By Rajiv Shah*  Recently, there have been series of “studies”, claiming that India has become a favourable investment destination because of the economic freedom it offers. Despite ranking India very high – No 1 in some cases – a scan through these reports gives a contradictory picture. While those that deal with purely economic governance issues, but do not touch social issues, easily place India as the best of all, those that address the social sector and its governance find things are not as rosy as they may seem. Worse, none of the reports, while addressing economic freedom or India as the best investment destination, finds even the slightest need to address issues of human rights, civil liberties and environment, as if they are not related with overall working of of the economy. The latest in the series is the Financial Times (September 29) published a report titled “India grabs investment league pole position”, by Courtney Fingar, says, India, experiencing “one of best foreign

Does PM have any plan to clean up severely polluted industrial clusters?

By Rohit Prajapati* Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission on October 2, 2014 and in his message on his website, he says, “A clean India is the best tribute we can pay to Bapu when we celebrate his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. […] Today, I appeal to everyone, particularly political and religious leadership, mayors, sarpanchs and captains of industry to plan and wholeheartedly engage in the task of cleaning your homes, work places, villages, cities and surroundings.” I want to remind the Prime Minister that earlier as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he had also launched similar campaign ‘Nirmal Gujarat – 2007’ and made tall claims during that campaign. But reality is best seen in Ahmedabad at illegal solid waste dumping site, the Gyaspur-Pirana Dumping Site – a Waste Mountain near Sabarmati River adjacent to the main road. The Prime Minister should know the basic facts as revealed in the ‘Report of the Task Force on Waste to Energy’ dated May 12, 2014 by th