CNS: transparency

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[video] Transparency in political alliances

Effective partnerships uniting all key stakeholders are key for ↑ progress on #Agenda2030

This Podcast features a conversation with Richard Ssewakiryanga, Co-Chair of CPDE (CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness) and Executive Director, Uganda National NGO Forum, was in conversation with Shobha Shukla, CNS Managing Editor, on sidelines of 1st Senior Level Meeting (SLM) of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) which took place at the United Nations, New York.

[हिंदी] Before Supreme Court order to the Election Commission of India to include NOTA (None Of The Above) button on electronic voting machines (EVMs) citizens who did not want to vote for any candidate had hardly any choice. Using NOTA was not an easy or hassle-free option earlier.

Electoral system biased against smaller parties

Dr Sandeep Pandey, Magsaysay Awardee and CNS Columnist

Anil Mishra is a candidate of Socalist Party (India) from Unnao in U.P. On 12 April, 2014 he sought permission of Election Officer of District Unnao to take out a bicycle rally with about a hundred people on 23 April from his village Khan Peer Ali Nevada to Auras town area. The polling in his constituency will take place on 30th April. The report filed by Assistant Returning Officer said that he had no objection to the rally as well as to the use of megaphone which was also requested.

Dr Rahul Pandey
In the past several days I have been a part of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s campaigning in Matiala constituency of Delhi. In this small period I have been witness to some inspiring processes and moments – motivation and hard work of persons volunteering for AAP; responses of people from various strata to AAP’s canvassing; decentralized and chaotic yet, in some ways, organized management of AAP’s campaign activities at the levels of constituencies and wards; and AAP’s unique model of local and democratic governance with a hint of Gandhi’s vision of ‘Swaraj’ or ‘Self-rule’.

A day-long Advocacy Training Workshop on WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3 will be held in Lucknow, India, on Saturday, 7th September 2013. Several civil society and government representatives implementing the domestic tobacco control law are likely to participate.

[हिंदी]The just retired Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi is quite agitated about the recent Supreme Court judgement making it necessary for Chief Information Commissioners to have a judicial background and to conduct all hearings in benches consisting of two Commissioners one of whom will have to be a person from judicial background. He put up a spirited argument why a person of judicial background was not necessary for the Information Commission. The task merely involved either taking a decision of either allowing information to be given or not. Some judicial thinking may be required to consider the cases of exemption from the Act. But such cases are rare. In the 20,000 cases that he disposed of, he said, he just encountered two which required some legal interpretation.

Right to Reject could have affected 'unopposed' elections

There is no candidate fielded by any major political party against Dimple Yadav, Samajwadi Party's candidate for Kannauj Lok Sabha seat. Dimple Yadav is also the daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kannauj is undoubtedly a party stronghold. There are only two candidates as per newspaper reports against her (independent candidate Sanju Katiyar and Dashrath Shankhwar of Sanyukt Samajwadi Dal) and if these candidates withdraw their nominations before 9th June, then Dimple Yadav will walk into Lok Sabha unopposed. Without getting into the debate of 'samajwaad' vs 'parivarwaad', is it really fair in democracy for a candidate to get elected 'unopposed' because how will common people figure out whether she is a unanimous choice of people (of Kannauj in this instance) or behind the scene efforts were made to ensure no one fights election against her? If our Indian Constitution had taken right to vote and right to reject at par, then this power would rest with the voter and election outcomes could be different.

[हिंदी] Different political parties have been forwarding their choices for the President's post. In the beginning it appeared that Mulayam Singh will support the candidature of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. This belief was strengthened when he supported Sharad Pawar's proposal that the President should be a apolitical person. However, now Mulayam Singh has retracted from his position. On the other hand Lalu Yadav proposed Vice-President Hamid Ansari's name for the post. Lalu is so close to the Congress that it appeared that he was essentially voicing Congress's choice. The names of West Bengal 's former Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, A.K. Antony, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Meira Kumar and even Dr. Manmohan Singh has since done the rounds. There seems to be a consensus emerging around Pranab Mukherjee's name. For most political parties whether belonging to UPA or NDA, he is the most acceptable for President's post.

[हिंदी] Growing protests across the country have strengthened the call against nuclear power in India. Activists of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) and Lok Rajniti Manch, are organising a protest and fast from 26 March 2012 till 1st April 2012, at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, in solidarity with ongoing fast by activists of the anti-nuclear movement at Idinthakarai, Tamil Nadu against the Koodankulam nuclear power plant. Social activist and Magsaysay Awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey is sitting on a seven day fast.

[हिंदी] The All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF)'s general secretary Shri Shailendra Dubey said that AIPEF will join hands with National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) and mobilize over 12 lakh AIPEF members across the country to demand open and unrestricted dialogue on energy issue and push the mandate of no carbon and no nuclear energy in India.

[हिंदी] Some very clear suggestions were submitted yesterday to the Chief Election Commission of Uttar Pradesh state to conduct forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in February 2012 in a more democratic and fair manner. Dr Sandeep Pandey, Magsaysay Awardee and Vice President, Socialist Party and member, National Presidium, Lok Rajniti Manch, has submitted a list of five strategic recommendations to increase accountability and transparency in the electoral process.

[हिंदी] Lok Rajniti Manch had organized a political meeting on 7th January 2012 which was attended by members of Lok Rajniti Manch, Samajwadi Jan Parishad, Socialist Party, Loktantrik Samajwadi Party, Jan Sangharsh Morcha, Sajha Sanskriti Manch, Varanasi and some individuals. Prominent among those who attended were Dr. B.D. Sharma, Pannalal Surana, S.R. Darapuri, Dr Sandeep Pandey, Lal Bahadur Singh, Ajit Jha, J.P. Singh, Onkar Singh, Girish Pandey, Anup Gupta, Uma Shankar Mishra, R.K. Agarwal and K.K. Sharma. Code of conduct for candidates supported by the Lok Rajniti Manch in forthcoming elections was agreed upon.

Photo credit: Jittima J - CNS

[हिंदी] Growing number of citizens are organizing themselves to support Anna Hazare, when he begins his fast tomorrow in Mumbai to strengthen his campaign against corruption. "We appeal to the citizens that when Anna Hazare sits on the fast in Mumbai then they should also organize a demonstration or a public fast in their local area and then court arrest at the district headquarters or nearest police station" said Dr Sandeep Pandey, Magsaysay Awardee and noted social activist with National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Asha Parivar and Lok Rajniti Manch.

A lot of well off and educated sections of our society are rooting for FDI in retail. There seems to be a disappointment among the middle/upper middle class consumers and the corporate world that the Government of India has put this policy on hold. There was an article published in The Telegraph on 5th December 2011 titled “How Bengal gains from FDI: Experiment that protected 6500 farmers from a curse.”

A National Workshop on the provisions, linkages and possible impacts related to India’s Free Trade Agreements and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) was recently organized in Delhi, by Third World Network, in partnership with Traidcraft Exchange (UK) and Shramik Bharti, (Kanpur) and supported by the Commonwealth Foundation, Network for Social Change and the Heinrich Boll Foundation. The purpose of the workshop was to flag issues related to free trade agreements (FTAs) and facilitate a dialogue between different stakeholders with a view to protect the interests of MSMEs in FTA negotiations, by playing a role of intermediaries between government and entrepreneurs. However, the presence of a mere 5 entrepreneurs in the workshop, did rob it off some valuable inputs.

The 10th International Congress on AIDS In Asia and the Pacific (10th ICAAP) recently held in Busan, South Korea, clearly brought out the need to engage the key affected young population of the Asia and Pacific region in ownership and leadership of HIV responses. It would not be possible to achieve the three zeros - Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS related deaths - without meaningful participation of the young community.

The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), Asha Parivar and Citizens for Healthy Lucknow initiative, have demanded a strong action against reported corruption and malpractices in public healthcare facilities in Lucknow. There are increasing numbers of reports of patients in government healthcare facilities being referred to private clinics for diagnostics or treatment when such facilities exist within government hospitals itself, or government doctors and other healthcare staff indulging in private practice or government healthcare staff not providing their services to people at appointed and designated duty hours.

More than 2000 people including students and faculty members of India's noted management and engineering institutes such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) have formally endorsed the petition seeking support for Anna Hazare's fast against corruption by skipping one meal in the day so long as he continues with his fast.

Growing number of students and faculty members of India's noted management and engineering institutes such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) are supporting Anna Hazare's fast against corruption by skipping one meal in the day so long as he continues with his FAST (sign the petition here). Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey who is currently teaching a course at IIT Gandhinagar has also signed this petition in support of Gandhian crusader against corruption Anna Hazare.