Yes , if it is employed,
- Frequently
- As a “ threat “ rather than a means of “Self
Purification“
- Then easily given up in search of alternate tools
May be Anna – and his team – failed to learn these lessons from Mahatma
Gandhi and Sri Ramulu ( who died fasting for creation of Andhra Pradesh and
forced Nehru to constitute , State Reorganization Commission )
Any way, now that Anna Team has decided to ,
- Create a new political party
- Contest 2014 National elections
- Try to change the system “ from within “,
they must rigorously follow the following “Principles/Rules“:
- Create a broad-based core committee of honest
persons of high integrity. These persons must be drawn from all the States
, without consideration of caste / religion etc
- They must be young , working class persons from all
walks of life
- Core Committee members ( Central as well as State
level ) , shall undertake , NOT to contest 2014 election themselves , in
order to avoid any “ Conflict of Interest “ vis-à-vis their declared and
noble objective of “ not wanting positions of power “
- Only State-level “ Core Committees “ shall
select state-candidates who will get “ party tickets “ to contest
election. No role for “ High Command “ will ensure “ decentralization “ of
decision making as advocated by Anna’s , much hyped, “
Vi-KendriKaran “
- Candidates will be from “ Educated Middle Class “,
who will NOT be expected to bear the election expenses , nor bring funds
for the party. Since they would need to resign from their jobs , Party
shall pay them an equal salary
- Party candidates shall undertake an oath not to
defect and be prepared to be “ re-called “ when demanded by the party
- Party shall not accept any donation in cash
- Party shall publish all receipts / expenditures on
its web site , monthly
- Party shall publish its “ Draft Manifesto “ before
Dec 2012 and enable public at large to “ Vote Online “ on each clause
separately . This could be made in the nature of a “ Yes / No “
referendum, eg:
· Conduct a
plebiscite in Kashmir [ yes / no ]
· Allow FDI in
retail [ yes / no ]
· Link petrol /
diesel prices to international crude prices [ yes / no ]
· Remove subsidy
from LPG [ yes / no ]
· Close down Air
India [ yes / no ]
· Sell off all
loss-making PSUs [ yes / no ]
· Write-off
Central Govt loans to all States [ yes / no ]
· Acquire farm
land for private sector industries [ yes / no ]
· Sell all
natural resources thru auction only [ yes / no ]
· Provide for 50%
preservation for women in Parliament as also all State legislatures [ yes / no
]
· Disqualify MLAs
whose attendance in parliament is less than 80 % [ yes / no ]
- Media ( especially , TV Channels ) should be
requested to conduct “ Yes / No “ opinion polls thru SMS , on each clause
of the “ Draft Manifesto “
- Final Manifesto ( based on the feedback ) must be
published , latest by June 2013
- Criteria for the selection of the Core Committee
members as also for the selection of party candidates MUST be made public
, latest by Oct 2012
- Since no individual can be expected to fulfill all
the laid down criteria 100 % , once selected , those criteria where he /
she failed , must be made public
- In selection of members of Core Committees ( both
Central and State ), as well as party candidates for election , 50 %
reservation must be made for women
- As far as possible , members of Core Committee (
Central and State ) , as also the party candidates , should be under 40
years of age
I hope others will come forward with similar suggestions and write to
Anna Team
One last piece of “ Caution “ to Team Anna / Baba Ramdev:
You will fail miserably to bring about any change thru our Parliamentary
system , unless your party gets an absolute majority and has to depend upon the
Mulayams / Lalus / Mamtas etc ! Don’t even attempt !
And that will apply equally to Narendra Modi , should he become next PM
Coalition – Dharma is the worst kind of dharma!
Hemen Parekh
