THE PEOPLE’S FORUM AND A VISION FOR A DECENTRALIZED

PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY IN INDIA By JOS CONIL

INTRODUCTION – HOW DEMOCRATIC IS OUR DEMOCRACY?

India is known as the world’s largest democracy. Compared to our

neighboring countries and many other developing nations and given the

great diversity within India in terms of culture, traditions, languages,

ethnicity and religion, it is indeed an achievement that India has remained

united as a democracy for more than 65 years. We have inherited the legacy

of the independence movement that united this nation and we have been

handed over a great constitution by our founding fathers.

While being proud of this great heritage, we have to examine the history of

independent India, especially the recent developments and ask ourselves

some basic questions. “Are we a fully democratic nation in which the

government is of the people, by the people and for the people?” “Do all our

citizens enjoy the social justice, liberty of expression and equality of

opportunity for all as enshrined in the preamble of our Constitution?” It is

almost certain that if these questions are asked to the general public we will

hardly get any positive answers. There is a general sense of helplessness and

anger among the people. The youth of this country is clearly frustrated at the

rampant corruption and lack of accountability of our leaders and bureaucrats.

This anger, frustration and helplessness of the common man have to be taken

seriously. A parliamentary democracy functions on the basis of people’s

trust. When we elect representatives we are in fact entrusting our hopes and

needs into their hands. Accountability to the people is of essence in a

democracy. Democracy cannot survive in a nation if its people no longer

believe in the system. If the present level of corruption continues unabated,

it can very well lead to a total collapse of the system and ultimately to the

demise of freedom and democracy in our country.

Therefore it is the need of the times to bring in a positive change in the

governance of this country. For that we need to diagnose the root cause of

this corruption epidemic that has affected our establishment from top to

bottom.

PEOPLE’S FORUM – THE NEED FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM

There are a handful of dedicated ministers, bureaucrats and police officers

who have made a positive change in people’s lives by committed, honest

work and visionary leadership. But such people are very rare exceptions. In

general, the establishment in India is corrupt, anti-people and trapped in a

web of vested interests and nepotism. It is controlled by big corporates,

communal leaders and the privileged classes often in a nexus with

underworld dons and criminals.

There are some basic reasons for this degeneration of Indian democracy. The

primary reason is that the power does not really rest with thepeople. Citizen

involvement in government is limited only to the ballot box, once in five

years. The power to vote does not translate into the power and right to take

part in the governance. This is because the people are not the real stake

holders in party politics in India.

Politics involves big money be it for fielding candidates or campaigning for

elections. During the independence struggle, the Indian National Congress

thrived on people’s voluntary contributions apart from a minimal

membership fee. The dream of an independent India united the people under

Gandhiji’s leadership. Even then there were rich people who sponsored the

movement, but its base was always with the masses.

After Independence, the control of party politics gradually shifted from the

masses into the hands of the rich and the powerful that sponsor the parties

for their own gain. The present system in India encourages a tyranny of

party politics which is hand in glove with corporates and criminals.

Therefore a positive change can happen only if the real power to govern is

handed over to the people in a system where the elected representatives, the

government officials and the government mechanism serves the interests of

the people. It also requires a transparent, accountable and realistic economic

model for political parties.

We know that our democracy has got three distinct functions – the

legislature, the executive and the judiciary. These are the three pillars on

which our democracy stands. But a three pillared structure is not really a

stable one. Sometimes the media is referred to as the fourth estate of

democracy. The media’s role in a democracy is powerful and important, but

it does not qualify as a fourth pillar on par with Legislature, Executive and

Judiciary since it is not a constitutional body. So there is definitely a missing

pillar – a fourth pillar which will strengthen our democracy and make it truly

“by the people, of the people and for the people”.

People’s forum is the fourth pillar which will usher in a participatory

democracy in our country. Its function is to ensure that the legislature and

executive are truly participatory and that there is a fair dispensation of

justice for the people and against corrupt or non performing authorities,

officials and legal personnel. It is not a super government, an external

agency or an extra power center thrust upon an elected government, but it is

a mechanism built into the system to ensure people’s right for self-

governance and justice.

People’s forum is a decentralized constitutional system which consists of

two agencies – a social service league and a citizen’s ombudsman – at the

national, state and local body levels. People’s Forum gives the citizen certain

basic rights and privileges which empower them for the following - to

participate in the administrative system and to enforce public mandate

through the legislature and executive; to initiate punitive measures and / or

legal action against non -performing and / or corrupt authorities, officials or

legal personnel through an accessible citizen’s ombudsman.

AN OUTLINE OF THE PEOPLE’S FORUM

1. A PARICIPATORY LEGISLATURE WITH REFERENDUM VOTE

PROVISION

It will be mandatory for the government to publish all details about

drafted laws and ordinances; policies; projects; treasury accounts;

budgets etc. Only sensitive information important for national security

will be exempt from this.

The government has to publish these details in the print & electronic

media, the internet or through special publications to seek public

opinion and views. People can voice their opinion and give

suggestions. The social service league will play an important role in

this communication between the people and the government. The

citizen can also organize signature campaigns in order to put any of

these – laws, policies, projects, budget proposals etc. for public

referendum, the mandate of which will be binding on the government.

Any citizen or group of citizens can prepare legal drafts, project

proposal and / or budget proposal, within the framework of the

Constitution; National & Regional standards, norms, schemes&

policies and present it through the people’s forum for public review,

debate and vote. If the people feel that any of the national and / or

regional policies, norms, standards and schemes needs to be

modified, exempted from or deleted, they can present the matter to

the appropriate authorities through the people’s forum for discussion

and further action.

This will encourage public participation and enable technocrats and

visionaries among the general public to come up with innovative

ideas and proposals which may sometimes be better than official

government projects.

2. A PARTICIPATORY EXECUTIVE WITH REFERENDUM VOTE

PROVISION

The citizen will have the right to review and monitor all public works

and infrastructure projects. It should be mandatory for the

government to publish periodic details and progress reports and dated

photographs. People can also give suggestions for better project

management, quality standards etc.

The citizen will have the right to review and monitor the functioning

of all government ministries, departments and offices. Publishing

periodic reports, accounts, minutes of procedure etc.will be

mandatory.

Here again, thepeople can organize a signature campaign to put any

of the government works / programs for public referendum, the

mandate of which will be binding on the government.

3. A PROTECTIVE MECHANISM AGAINST ABUSE OF DEMOCRATIC

RIGHTS BY ORGANIZED POLITICAL POWER

The freedom to assemble and protest is an essential right in a

democracy. Recent demonstrations at Delhi in favor of the anti-

corruption campaign and against the gruesome gang rape incident are

examples of the need to preserve that freedom.

However there are some instances where this essential freedom is

abused or misused for political agenda and for display of muscle

power. One such example is the bandh epidemic in Kerala. Politicians

in Kerala – both right and left – are very fond of this method of

protest and most of the time people are forced to comply with their

plans due to the fear of political muscle power. In Kerala, an average

of 20- 25 working days are wasted per month for bandhs (adding up

the bandh days at state level and local ones). Very often, a handful of

politicians can arbitrarily declare a bandh and bring the whole state to

a grinding halt. This is a socio political problem and a major

roadblock for the state’s development. It is also a clear case of

triumph of mobocracy over democracy and an abuse of democratic

rights, in spite of High Court orders against such forced bandhs.

There should be a comprehensive Public Servants Act which deals

with the code of conduct; style of functioning; conditions for

membership; financial accountability and discipline etc. of political

parties, trade unions, socio political and community organizations.

Bandhs should be totally banned by law. The parties and

organizations will be free to declare and conduct strikes according to

the code of conduct, but if they want the general public to stay away

from daily activities and to join with them in the protest, they have to

seek public referendum for the same. They have to put it for

referendum vote at least one week in advance and if they get a clear

2/3rds majority, they can declare that particular day as a shutdown day

of protest in which the public can participate voluntarily (only). The

public referendum for a shutdown day will enable the authorities and

the law enforcement to make necessary arrangements to ensure law &

order and to facilitate the individual citizen’s freedom for movement

and work on that day.

Bandhs in Kerala are just one instance of the abuse of democratic

rights by organized political power. People’s forum should provide

the citizen with similar safeguards against such abuses and

transgression of their rights and freedom.

4. THE RIGHT TO DISMISS A GOVERNMENT AND / OR AUTHORITIES

People’s forum will empower the citizen with the right to dismiss any

government which is corrupt or non- performing. People can organize

a signature campaign and put the government’s fate for public

mandate.

The same right will extend over all individual authorities starting from

the President, Prime minister, MPs, MLAs, down to the Panchayat

President and councilors. The dismissal voting should be done by the

same electorate that has elected the authority.

5. THE CITIZEN’S OMBUDSMAN

Citizen’s ombudsman will be the enforcement arm of the People’s

forum. The Ombudsman can receive complaints from the general

public, register cases and initiate legal action. Cases will be registered

only after a proper preliminary investigation based on the complaint.

Once the case is registered, the Ombudsman will proceed on its own

with the legal action, to protect the identity of the complainant.

The ombudsman will have both police and legal powers, to issue

summons, arrest warrants and initiate legal action in special fast track

courts. The people’s forum and the ombudsman will be a

decentralized set up from national and state levels, down to the

Panchayat council level. The ombudsman can also initiate a case on

their own, in public interest, even in the absence of a complaint.

Citizen’s Ombudsman will have direct legal jurisdiction over the

following authorities and agencies –

All authorities and elected representatives – starting from the

President, Prime minister, MPs, Chief ministers, Governors,

MLAs etc. down to the City Mayors, Panchayat presidents and

councilors.

All government officials, Secretaries, IAS officers, Collectors

etc. down to village officers, Thahasildars and all government

employees in all departments in officer category and above.

Presidents, secretaries and all officers of all government and

semi-government corporations and agencies.

CBI and all police force right from Commissioners to

inspectors.

Heads & officials of all government institutions like Schools,

Hospitals, and Colleges; heads and officials of public sector

industries and enterprises.

The whole judiciary starting from The Chief justice to the

district magistrate.

Heads and members of the People’s forum– the social service

league and the Citizen’s Ombudsman. There will be in built

mechanisms to prevent and curb corruption in the People’s

form agencies and the Ombudsman. In complicated cases of

corruption / inaction by the head and higher officials of the

Ombudsman, the authority to summon, arrest and take legal

action against them will rest with the police commissioners /

magistrates / judges / the Chief justice, according to the

jurisdiction in the national, state or local body level.

Indirect legal jurisdiction of the Ombudsman will extend to the

following-

Heads and officials of all political parties and trade unions.

Though parties and trade unions are not part of the official

government mechanism, they are included in the indirect

jurisdiction as a safeguard against harassment of the common

man by organized political power (as in the case of instant

bandhs and trade union high handedness in Kerala). The

Ombudsman will take up the case only as a last resort in the

event of police inaction. The concerned police official /

authority will be held accountable by the Ombudsman.

All corporates and business establishments. This is also as a last

resort mode in case of failure of authorities in delivering justice

after all the complaints and legal procedures.

Corruption charges against lower grade employees (below

officer category) of all the government, police and judicial

machinery mentioned above can also be referred to the

Ombudsman as a last resort action and the concerned higher

official / authority will be held accountable for the inaction.

6. THE SOCIAL SERVICE LEAGUE

As mentioned earlier, the physical structure of the People’s Forum

consists of basically two agencies – A social service league and the

Citizen’s Ombudsman – on the national, state and local body levels.

The social service league is a group of dedicated social workers

whose function is to take the government to the people and the people

to the government. Their duties and responsibilities are as follows –

Agents of social justice The poor, the illiterate, the tribals and the underprivileged are

not usually aware of the rights and privileges granted to them

by the Constitution. They also do not enjoy the benefits of

government welfare and healthcare schemes. Apart from the

lack of awareness, their accessibility to these rights, privileges

and schemes are limited or nonexistent due to exploitation and

caste based discriminations.

The social servants have to endeavor to bridge this gap of social

justice by reaching out to them and making them aware of their

rights & privileges and the benefits of the welfare schemes

available to them. This can be done by means of awareness

initiatives and by assistance in obtaining the benefits of the

welfare schemes. This interaction will also be helpfulto

understand the real needs of the people and to take their

opinions and concerns about the schemes provided. These

inputs should be conveyed to the government to help evolve

better schemes, better projects and a better modus operandi,

more suited for the social needs and priorities.

Assistance in citizen services

The social servant should assist the common man especially the

illiterate and underprivileged with the procedures for obtaining

basic services and utilities; certificates etc.

Assistance with loans, aids and technical guidance

The social servants should assist the citizen with procedures to

obtain government loans, aids and technical guidance -

agricultural loans for farmers; financial aid for entrepreneurs to

set up small and medium scale enterprises; educational loans

for deserving students etc. They can also assist people in

obtaining technical advice for farmers, entrepreneurs,

innovators etc.

Communicators for participatory governance.

The social servants have to communicate with the people the

details of the government’s published legal drafts, schemes,

policies, projects etc. and encourage them to voice their

opinions, suggestions and complaints and communicate the

same with the authorities. In case of public dissent against any

of the schemes or policies, they have to assist with the signature

campaign and the referendum voting procedures.

Assistance with judicial services and communicators with

citizen’s ombudsman Very often, justice is not accessible to the common man,

especially the poor, the illiterate and the underprivileged. The

social servant has to assist such people to obtain judicial

services free of cost as a basic right. They should also spread

awareness about the services of the ombudsman and help them

to register complaints if needed.

Communicators of social awareness messages and

assistance with social rehabilitation Social servants should endeavor to spread awareness against

social evils like female foeticide and infanticide; atrocities

against women; discrimination and atrocities against the so

called lower castes and minorities; child marriages etc. They

should assist in the social rehabilitation of alcoholics, drug

addicts and victims of all sorts of violence and discriminations.

In this matter, they can also co-ordinate and collaborate with

NGOs and charitable organizations involved in such

rehabilitation efforts.

The social service league will be guided by a panel of

dedicated, honest people with a clean track record and proven

competence like retired judges, retired military personnel,

School headmasters, doctors, engineers, scientists and / or

people with a proven track record of clean and dedicated social

service. They will be provided with salaries as per government

norms and will be entrusted with the task of recruiting and

coordinating volunteers for the field work and outreach

programs. The volunteers should be honest and dedicated

people also with a clean track record. Students, youngsters,

housewives and people from all walks of life, who are

interested in social outreach, can render their services.Persons

who hold any responsible position in any political party, trade

union (or any other organization classified according to be

Public Servants Act) will not be eligible for volunteering. This

is meant to prevent a polarization based on party politics,

ideology, caste and community within the league. Ordinary

party workers will be free to join provided they refrain from

attempts to create sectarianism.

The volunteers will be paid a stipend as decided by the panel.

This social outreach service will be made mandatory for IAS,

IPS and all other Civil Services aspirants as a part of their

training program. Volunteerswho have rendered exemplary

service will be eligible for state funding if they wish to contest

elections as independent candidates.

THE ELECTORAL AND ADMINSTRATIVE CHANGES REQUIRED

The institution and functioning of the People’s Forum requires some

fundamental changes in the administrative structure and electoral

procedures. First of all we need a distinct administrative set up to co –

ordinate and monitor the functions of the Social Service League and the

Citizen’s Ombudsman, at the national, state and local body levels. That

administrative body needs to have proper autonomy and power like the

Election Commission, but unlike the EC, the People’s Forum will be in

constant interaction with the general public. Therefore ideally it should be

administered by an elected representative of the People.

1. NEW ROLE FOR THE PRESIDENT & GOVERNORS – ADMINISTRATORS

OF THE PEOPLE’S FORUM

In our present system, the President is just a statutory position with

little involvement in the governance and is elected by the MPs of both

houses. But the President is the highest office in the country and

therefore the apt authority to be the administrator of the People’s

Forum at the National level. Similarly at the State level, the Governor

will be the administrator of the People’s Forum. At the local body

level, there should be a new set of authorities like Panchayat

Governor, City Governor and Municipality Governor. At the district

and / or block levels, there will be co – ordination committees with the

all the local body Governors as members, under the State Governor, in

order to resolve issues and for co – operation at district / block levels.

However, at present, the President and the Governor are not directly

elected by the people. So we need some basic electoral reforms in this

regard. The president should be elected directly by the whole nation,

similar to the US presidential elections. The Presidential candidates

should preferably be independents - either fielded by political parties

or contesting on their own. Once the social service league gets

functional, candidates who have rendered dedicated service and

shown excellent leadership in social work will be given preference.

Similarly, the Governor of a state will be directly elected the people of

the whole state and that of Panchayat will be elected by the whole

Panchayat. The term of service of the President and Governors will be

7.5 years, so that a presidential / governor election will not coincide

with a Lok Sabha, State Assembly or Panchayat general elections.

Also the President and Governors can oversee a smooth transfer of

power and ensure administrative continuity after the general elections.

The electorate which elected the President – i.e. the whole nation will

have the power to dismiss him through a dismissal vote, which can be

organized through a signature campaign. Proven corruption and / or

criminal charges will automatically disqualify a President. Same

norms will apply to the dismissal or removal of State and Panchayat

Governors.

The President will be the administrator of the people’s forum at the

national level and will appoint the Social Service league guidance

panel as well as the Citizen’s Ombudsman Chairman at the national

level. Similarly the State Governor will administer the State people’s

forum and appoint the Social service guidance panel& Ombudsman

chairman at the state level and the Panchayat Governor will exercise a

similar power over the Panchayat People’s forum and Ombudsman.

2. THE ELECTORAL REFORMS FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS

These electoral reforms are meant to render the system free from the

tyranny of party politics and also to help the people make a clearer,

straight forward choice.

We have inherited the Westminster model of Parliamentary

democracy from the British in which we vote for a particular party

and entrust with them the task of forming the government. This

system will work out smoothly only if the public mandate is clear and

the elected representatives are dedicated and incorrupt. Unfortunately

the ground realities in India are quite different from these ideal

situations.

Very often in Parliamentary elections, regional issues and vote bank

politics play an important role than national issues, leading to a

confused mandate and coalitions of convenience formed after the

elections. Coalitions are a political reality in the present scenario with

strong regional parties. It is fundamentally a good principle to co –

operate and form a government based on a common program, but the

problems arising from the infighting for power and clout upsets the

smooth functioning of the government. It also leads to corrupt,

unethical practices like buying of MPs and small parties; bargaining

for prominent positions and key portfolios; pressure tactics from

regional parties, community leaders etc. These problems can be

avoided or drastically reduced if the electoral system is simpler and

more direct, where the people will be voting directly for a

governmentrather than for a party to form a government

thereafter.

In a Parliamentary election, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet

Ministers should be elected directly by the whole nation. It will also

be similar to US Presidential elections, the only difference being that

the whole nation will be voting for the Prime Minister and his team

simultaneously, apart from the local MP.

The practical problem arising from this arrangement, in the present

form of ministry is the large number of voting machines required

since the numbers of ministers will be more. The present Central

Government has got about 76 ministersincluding 32Union ministers

and other ministers of state. Such a large and inefficient ministry

structure is followed due to the present centralized model and also to

satisfy and maintain the political equations within the ruling coalition.

Very often, portfolios are unnecessarily created to give a ministry

berth to satisfy the power lust of the coalition partners and the

ministries are divided among parties and inner party groups at will.

This leads to a large and highly inefficient ministry structure.

Therefore we need a more systematic and streamlined system of core

ministries with departments underthem. This arrangement is not

for the convenience of voting for the whole ministry, but to make the

administrative machinery more efficient and the governance more

effective – less government and better governance. The basic idea is

that the Union ministers, as people’s representatives, have to act as

integrators and coordinators of various departments to serve the

people’s needs. The individual departments will be headed by

department secretaries - eminent Civil Service officers and others with

proven competence in the respective fields.

3. THE ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS & ITS ELECTORAL IMPLICATIONS

The structure of the Ministries and Departments will roughly be as

follows:

i) MINISTRY OF DEFENCE ii) MINISTRY OF HOME SECURITY – Departments – Central Police

force; Counter Terrorism forces etc.

iii) MINISTRY OF FINANCE & REVENUE – Departments – Taxes;

Finance & Planning etc.

iv) MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS – Departments –

Foreign Missions & Immigration; NRI affairs etc.

v) MINSTRY OF ENERGY – Departments – Power Grid; Atomic

energy; Renewable energy etc.

vi) MINISTRY OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE – Departments – Farming

& Animal husbandry; Fisheries; Public distribution & Food

security etc.

vii) MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, LABOR & SOCIAL WELFARE – Departments – Primary & Secondary education; Higher

education; Technical education; Human resource development;

Labor & Employment; Pension & Personnel welfare etc.

viii) MINISTRY OF HEALTH, FAMILY WELFARE & HUMAN

SERVICES – Departments – Health services; Drinking water &

sanitation; rural health services; Family welfare etc.

ix) MINISTRY OF LAW & SOCIAL JUSTICE – Departments – Law &

legal services; Human rights; Social justice & empowerment etc.

x) MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES – Departments –

Environment & Forests; Water resources; Coal ; Petroleum &

natural gas; Steel; Mining & Geology; Survey, land records &

satellite mapping etc.

xi) MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION – Departments – Road transport

& Highways; Railways; Shipping & ports; Inland water transport;

Civil aviation etc.

xii) MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY – Departments –

Scientific & Industrial research; Space research & programs; Earth

sciences; Bio sciences & technology; Chemicals & Fertilizers;

Intellectual property etc.

xiii) MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & IT –Departments –

Telecom; Posts; Information technology etc.

xiv) MINISTRY OF HOUSING & INFRASTRUCTURE – Departments –

Urban housing & infrastructure; rural housing & infrastructure;

Roads & Public works etc.

xv) MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY & COMMERCE – Departments – Large

scale industries & enterprises; small scale industries & enterprises;

MNCs and corporate affairs; service industries; Textiles etc.

xvi) MINISTRY OF HERITAGE, CULTURE & TOURISM – Departments

– Tourism & Hospitality; Archaeology & Heritage conservation;

Handicrafts; Classical & Folk art forms; Artisan’s welfare etc.

xvii) MINISTRY OF MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT – Departments –

Information & broadcasting; movies & entertainment etc.

xviii) MINISTRY OF SPORTS – Departments – Sports & games; rural

sports development; traditional sports & games etc.

Of these 18 Ministries, Defence and Home security will be handled by

the Prime Minister himself. Thus the voter will have to cast 18 votes

in total – 17 for the Cabinet Ministers and 1 for the local MP. The

voting machines can be arranged in a line, interconnected in such a

way that the vote will be counted as valid only of the voter presses

any one button in all the 18 machines – even if it is the None Of The

Above (NOTA) button in all.

This arrangement will obviously increase the election expenses as we

will need 18 machines per polling station as against one. It may also

increase the polling time as the average time taken by a voter to make

18 votes will be more than that for making one vote. So we may need

more polling stations or we may need to give more voting time. This

will also increase the election expenditure. But it eventually makes

substantial savings as a smaller ministry means lesser government

expenditure. The other advantages and features of this system are as

follows:

The possibility of a hung Parliament is reduced as the ministry

is directly elected by the people. Since the question of obtaining

a majority in the House does not exist, there will be no political

horse trading and unstable coalitions of convenience. Only in

the case of NOTA getting the majority a re-polling has to be

done either fully or for that particular ministry with a different

set of candidates. In this system, the possibility of a confused

mandate is marginal as the natural tendency of a voter will be to

elect ministers and the MP from the same party.

If in case the mandate is still unclear and it throws up a divided

house, with the elected government not having a majority

parliamentary party of their own, the MPs can give an issue /

policy based support to the government rather than form

coalition parties. Disagreement with government policies and

projects can be referred for public referendum via signature

campaigns and the mandate of that will be binding on the

government and the Parliament.

People’s representatives will be at the helm of affairs in

ministries while able and competent administrators will be

handling the individual departments. These Secretaries of State

will be appointed by the ministers and will have a term of 7.5

years so that there can be administrative continuity even in the

event of a government change. These non-political officials can

be given continuous terms in case of exemplary service so that

their expertise and dedication can be fully utilized for the

nation.

This system offers more scope for non-political eminent

persons to contest elections as independent candidates for any

of the posts including that of the Prime Minister. For example

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan can contest the elections for the post of

Food & Agriculture Minister;AmartyaSen can join the race to

be the Finance Minister and Sachin Tendulkar can if he wants

compete for the post of Sports Minister. Such eminent people

can join the electoral race without having to affiliate with any

political party. They can fund their own candidature and

election campaign and also accept contributions from the

public.

The right to dismiss the whole government or any particular

minister will rest with the people. If the opposition party wants

to dismiss the government, they have to organize a signature

campaign and put it for people’s vote and the whole electorate

which voted for the ministry / minister will have to cast the

dismissal vote. Proven corruption charges or criminal cases will

automatically disqualify a minister or Prime Minister.

The portfolios of the individual ministers can be made

interchangeable for administrative convenience. For example

the Prime Minster can depute the charge of the Home ministry

or Defence to a colleague or take up another portfolio from a

colleague, based on mutual consent.

In case of resignation, demise, disqualification or dismissal by

public vote of a minister, the Prime Minister can appoint a

minister from among the elected MPs and that MP should seek

people’s mandate as in a general election, if the government has

got a remaining term of more than 6 months. If the replacement

happens within the last 6 months of the term, that particular

portfolio will be handed over to another minister or taken up by

the PM. He can also appoint an MP with the temporary charge

till the elections. If the replacement is for the PM, the President

can appoint a person from the MPs and he should seek the

public vote if there is more than 6 months left for the

government. If the replacement happens in the last 6 months of

the term, the President can appoint a Cabinet Minister as PM

till the elections. The same procedure will apply to the state

governments& local body governments also with the CM,

Governor or Panchayat President taking charge of the

replacement in a similar fashion.

4. THE DECENTRALIZED PARTICIPATORY MINISTRIES & DEPARTMENTS

AT NATIONAL, STATE & LOCAL BODY LEVELS

The elections for State Assemblies will also be conducted in a similar

manner. The Chief Minister and the state cabinet will be elected

directly by the people. The number of ministriesand departments will

be lesser as Defence and International affairs are not state matters.

The local bodies like Panchayats will also have ministries similar to

the state, perhaps without the sub departments and also the number of

portfolios handled by one minister can be more. This structuring of

ministries and departments for the local needs will be determined by

the local people’s forum. For example, a coastal village will need a

department of fisheries or anartisan’s village needs to have a

handicrafts department.

These ministries and departments though decentralized will have a

centralized participation. For example, the Food and Agriculture

ministry at a Panchayat as well as a state government will be

automatically a part of the Central Ministry. This is not for imposing

the rule from Delhi (which cannot be done in a decentralized power

structure), but for direct participation in matters of national and state

level policies, projects and laws. The individual local bodies can also

directly benefit from national expertise, knowhow and trained

manpower if they so desire. This direct interaction will also help to

evolve more appropriate national policies, projects and standards with

local versions and variants if necessary.

The Finance & Revenue ministry will also be decentralized and there

will be a treasury at every village and urban local body level. The tax

revenue from each local body will go 30% to the local treasury which

will also be a village / urban bank. The remaining 70% will go to be

state government treasury. 60% of this state revenue will go to the

Centre. Local bodies will have financial autonomy within the frame

work of the Constitution and national / state norms and policies. The

State funding for local body projects will be free money (funds not

attached with pre-determined state government schemes) which they

can utilize for their approved development projects. The local

People’s forum with its Ombudsman will act as a watch dog for all the

public works and projects, in order to ensure accountability and curb

corruption.

THE COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC SERVANT’S ACT

As mentioned earlier in part 3 of the section titled “Outline of the People’s

Forum” we need a comprehensive “Public Servant’s Act”. All political

parties; socio - political organizations; Community organizations; trade

unionswill come under the purview of this Act. There will be special&

separate provisions for political parties, socio – political organizations &

trade unions. Community and social organizations are also included in this

Act as they also exert a major formative influence on the society.

The purpose of this Act will be to ensure a democratic style of functioning;

an accepted code of conduct for holding demonstrations and protests;

submission to the purview of the RTI; Acceptance and submission to the

Constitution of India; Clean sourcing of funds &financial transparency etc.

Political parties in particular will have to evolve an honest and realistic

financial model. Very often the Election Commission’s norms limiting

election campaign expenses are unrealistic and arbitrary. It is not possible to

reach out to a large electorate with these well-intentioned but crippling limits

on the spending. It is quite clear that these limits are not strictly followed by

the parties and that there is a lot of unaccounted and black money flowing

into the race, which in fact encourages a criminal nexus. This also cripples

honest candidates who are in effect forced to start their political careers with

a lie about their campaigning expenses.

Instead of these arbitrary limits, the EC should fix a rate per voter for the

elections, in consultation with the political parties and the local people’s

forum. These norms need to be revised periodically based on the rise in

expenses due to inflation. The rates will also have regional variations as the

amount needed for campaigning among illiterate tribal people will not be the

same as that needed to campaign among computer savvy and media guided

urban folk. Fixing a rate per voter based on local experience & study of local

factors will be more realistic and effective that fixing up an arbitrary amount

on the national level.

REFERENDUM AND DISMISSAL VOTE PROCEDURES

The right for referendum vote is very empowering for the citizen, but casting

the vote in traditional manner with polling stations and voting machines for

referendum has got many practical problems. It will be very expensive to

maintain permanent voting stations and it will also lead to the loss of many

valuable working days whenever a referendum vote is declared. So we need

a system which will not affect the flow of our daily lives.

For that, we need to utilize our IT prowess and principles of e–governance

for that. The Unique Identity Card scheme (Aadhar) being implemented now

can be used to secure the identity of the voter for referendum vote. There

will be two options for referendum – by logging into the website using

Aadhar number or through ATM like voting machines. The voting machines

will be placed conveniently in government premises like Panchayat offices,

Government schools, Citizen Service Centers etc. Citizens who want to use

the voting machines will have to take bio metric registration which will be

linked to their Aadhar. Voter identity numbers of the EC will also be linked

to the Aadhar. The bio metric identity will be valid only locally i.e. only in

their hometown / village. If they want to vote out of station, they will have to

use the log in option.

Since ATMs are in use even in remote villages, illiterate people can also be

trained to use the voting machines by the social servants. Biometric

identification will enable them to log in and voting machine like buttons will

be provided for the Yes / no options. The issue, project, policy or budget for

vote will be announced in advance and communicated to the people by the

social servants. Those who have are computer literate can log in using the

Aadhar number and create a password for the access and vote.

Dismissal vote will be treated as a general election and will be conducted by

the EC in the traditional manner with polling stations and voting machines.

CONCLUSION AND AN APPEAL

The ideas outlined in this essay are a set of suggestions to usher in a

decentralized, participatory and clean system of government and politics in

the country. These ideas need to be brought into the limelight for a national

discourse on the same. Only through an engaging discourse with the general

public and eminent persons can we evolve appropriate systems and reforms

which can make transform India into a true democracy where the

government is of the people, for the people and by the people.

If the idea outlined in this essay has captured your imagination, please try to

popularize it so that it can capture the limelight and lead to a public

discussion and debate on it.

You are also most welcome to email your suggestions, ideas, feedback and

criticisms to the author at coniljos@gmail.com.