कृषि के साथ ही किसानों की भी चिंता से व्यथित होकर आज से ग्यारह साल
पहले 2004 में राष्ट्रीय किसान आयोग का
गठन किया गया था, जिसके अध्यक्ष डॉ एमएस स्वामीनाथन ने
किसानों के हालात को बयान करते हुए यह रिपोर्ट 2007 में ही सरकार
को सौंप दी थी। उस भारत सरकार को जिसके मुखिया बीते एक साल से खुद नरेंद्र मोदी
हैं।
सत्तारूढ भाजपा के किसान मोर्चा अध्यक्ष ओपी धनखड़ और उनके सहयोगी इन्हीं
स्वामीनाथन की रिपोर्ट को लागू करने की मांग को लेकर लोकसभा चुनावों के पहले तक
किसान संगठनों के साथ-साथ अर्ध नग्न होकर धरने प्रदर्शन में हिस्सा लेते रहे। अब यही धनखड़
हरियाणा के कृषिमंत्री हैं लेकिन स्वामीनाथन रिपोर्ट लागू करने की
सरकार चर्चा भी नहीं कर रही ।
याचिका में राष्ट्रीय अपराध रिकार्ड ब्यूरो की रिपोर्ट का हवाला देते हुए कहा गया है कि किसानों
की हालत और हालात तो ऐसे हैं कि राष्ट्रीय अपराध रिकार्ड ब्यूरो (एनसीआरबी) को अपनी हालिया रिपोर्ट ‘ दुर्घटना में मौतें और आत्महत्याएं 2014’ में “
भारत में किसानों की आत्महत्या” के नाम से एक
अलग चैप्टर जोड़ना पड़ा। एनसीआरबी रिपोर्ट में
साफ लिखा है कि किसानों की आत्महत्या का सबसे बड़ा कारण कर्ज में डूबना ही है। कर्ज
और किसानी से जुड़े मुद्दों से परेशान होकर 41.8 किसानों ने
आत्महत्या की। हिमाचल प्रदेश में तो 87.5 प्रतिशत किसानों ने
इसलिए आत्महत्या कर ली क्योंकि उनकी फसल बरबाद हो गई थी। इस रिपोर्ट में यह भी
लिखा है कि बीते साल 18 वर्ष से भी कम आयु के 2 बच्चों ने इस वजह से आत्महत्या कर ली क्योंकि उनके सर ट्रैक्टर-पंपसेट
जैसे कर्ज थे जिसे वे चुका नहीं पाए। 26 बच्चों ने फसल खराब
हो जाने के कारण फांसी लगा ली या जहर खा लिया या चिंता में जल मरे। 22 बच्चों ने किसानी पर प्रकृति की मार से त्रस्त होकर अपनी जान दे दी।
याचिका में कहा गया है कि तमिलनाडु में
जयललिता द्वारा मतदाताओं को फ्री वादों से लुभाने के मामले में सुप्रीम कोर्ट
द्वारा चुनाव आयोग को निर्देश दिया गया था कि वह राजनीतिक दलों के घोषणापत्र के
कंटेन्ट पर नियमन हेतु कानून बनाने की पहल करे और उस पर सभी राजनीतिक दलों की
खामोशी लोकतंत्र के लिए दुखद है । मामले की सुनवाई बुधवार को
हाई कोर्ट में होगी ।
ORIGINAL PETITION
CWP-10477-2016
http://phhc.gov.in/enq_caseno.php?var1=CWP&var2=10477&var3=2016
IN THE
HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
CWP No. 10477
of 2016
IN THE MATTER OF:
PARDEEP
KUMAR RAPRIA, ADVOCATE .........Petitioner
//VERSUS//
1. BHARITYA
JANTA PARTY
Through its National President, Amit Sah,
11, Ashoka Road, New Delhi -
110001 India.
2. BHARITYA
JANTA PARTY, HARYANA UNIT
Through its State President Shri Subhash
Barala,
30, H.U.D.A. Complex, Rohtak, Haryana
3. SHRI O.P. DHANKAR,
Agriculture Minister,
Haryana
Room No.: 34, 8th Floor, Haryana Civil Secretariat,
Sector-1, Chandigarh.
4.
SHIROMANI AKALI DAL
Through its President, S. Sukhbir Singh Badal
NH21, Guru Teg Bahadur
Nagar, Kharar, Punjab 140301.
5. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA,
Through its Principal Secretary,
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New
Delhi – 110001.
6. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE,
Department of Agriculture & Cooperation,
Through its Chief
Secretary
Krishi Bhawan, Rajendra
Prasad Road, New Delhi-110001
7. STATE OF PUNJAB
Through its Chief Secretary, Govt. of
Punjab
Department of Agriculture, Chandigarh.
8. STATE OF HARYANA
Through Additional Chief Secretary to Govt. of Haryana,
Department of Agriculture Haryana,
Krishi Bhawan, Sector –
21, Panchkula (Haryana) ........Respondents
CHANDIGARH (PARDEEP KUMAR RAPRIA)
DATED: 19.02.2016 PETITIONER IN PERSON
30, H.U.D.A. Complex, Rohtak, Haryana
SYNOPSIS & LIST OF DATES AND EVENTS
The present Civil Writ
Petition raises the substantial questions
of law of general public importance and interpretation of the Article 14, 19,
20, 21 of the Constitution of India; in connection with the
accountability of the winning Political Party towards their masters/electors,
i.e., ‘we the people of India’ especially while dealing with the
Fundamental Rights of people.
Whereas we the People
of India have given to ourselves the Constitution of India with a view to have
constituted India into SOCIALIST
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE-
social, economic and political; LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith
and worship; EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
assuring the dignity of the
individual (for limited purpose of the present
petition)
According to Article
79 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament consists of President of India
and the two Houses of Parliament known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and
House of the People (Lok Sabha). Further, Article 80(4) of Constitution of
India provides that members of Rajya Sabha shall be elected by the elected
members of State Legislative Assemblies. Therefore, both houses consist of
elected and nominated members of different political parties. Even, the President is also elected by the
members of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both the
Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of
States and the Union Territories of Delhi and Pondicherry. Similarly, the State
Assembly also consists of members of the different political parties.
Therefore, in the entire constitutional
and democratic set-up and parliamentary system the
Political Parties constitute one of the most important institutions . Prof.
Harold J Laski in his classic text “Grammar of Politics” says that the life of
a democratic State is built upon the party system. Political parties are responsible for the growth and development of the society and the nation. Elections are contested on party
basis. The Political Parties select some problems as more urgent than others
do and present solutions to them,
which may be acceptable to the citizens and acceptance of the
citizens is reflected in the election results. The ruling party draws its development programs based on its political agenda. Political Parties affect the lives of citizens, directly or indirectly, in every conceivable
way and
are continuously engaged in performing public duty. It
is, therefore, important that they became accountable to the public.
Therefore,
while considering the role and privileges of political parties; with the
objective ensuring accountability of the political parites the Full Bench of the Central Information Commission (CIC) vide its
decision dated 03.06.2013 has declared the major political parties as Public
Authorities.
Elections form the
support of Indian Democratic system. Indian democratic setup gives on us the
right to elect the representatives of the state.
Therefore, the Election
Manifestos are drafted by the Political Parties keeping an eye on forthcoming
elections and are published and well publicized. Oxford dictionary defines
manifesto as a public declaration of the policy and aims of a group such as
political party. Thus, an election manifesto is a published document containing
declaration of the ideology, intentions, views, policies and programmes of a
political party. It therefore serves as a reference document or benchmark for
the public at large for what a political party stands for. By comparing the
ideologies, policies and programmes of the political parties, the electors can
decide which party they should vote for to meet their expectations and
aspirations.
Whereas
the Bhatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its 2014 Election Manifesto apart from other
‘pledged’ to voters to ‘Quality life in
Villages’ and ‘Flourishing Agriculture’ and clearly, unequivocally and
repeatedly promised that, “Agriculture is the engine of India's economic growth and the largest
employer, and BJP commits highest priority to agricultural growth, increase in
farmer's income and rural development.”
And BJP WILL:-
Ø increase public investment in agriculture and rural development.
Ø take steps to enhance the profitability in agriculture, by ensuring a
minimum of 50% profits over the cost of production, cheaper agriculture inputs
and credit...
Ø Put in place welfare measures for farmers above 60 years in age, small
and marginal farmers and farm labours.
Ø evolve a single 'National Agriculture Market'..
Apart from the
aforesaid National Election Manifesto the BJP Haryana, Manifesto Committee also
published its Manifesto for Haryana Vidhansabha Elections and sought votes from
voters by ‘pledging’ to farmers:
Ø New Green Revolution
Ø Welfare of farmers
Ø Take steps to enhance the profitability in agriculture, by ensuring a
minimum of 50% profits over the cost of production, cheaper agriculture inputs
and credit...etc.”
Therefore, the
manifesto was a statement of policy
and offer to the whole world that as to how the would be Government intended to
act; if the people of India voted the BJP to power. It therefore gave rise to a legitimate
expectation that the people vote BJP, the expectations of farmers would be
fulfilled and they would enjoy heaven on earth. However, by taking not step
towards their commitment in Manifesto the present ruling party has lead to the
breach of legitimate expectation of citizens and also the breach of implied
contract with the electorate.
It may
be very relevant and important to mention here that the pledges in the BJP Manifesto, by and large, are covered by the recommendations in fifth and final report of The National Commission on Farmers (Ministry of
Agriculture). However, all successive governments have failed to implement the
aforesaid report for securing the Fundamental Rights of farmers.
In
the modern era, the accountability and responsiveness are hallmark of good
governance. And because of this all modern legislations including RTI Act,
Lokpal, Whistle Blower Protection Act, Citizen Charter have been passed with the
objecting of promoting accountability in the functioning of all state
organs, including bureaucracy, judiciary
etc. Therefore, it would be completely unreasonable and out of tune with
democratic principles to accept that the accountability is good for all State
organs but not so good for Political Parties. It baffles the common human
prudence that in democracy the political parties are not accountable for their
self-propagated commitments
in their self-propagated manifesto; which in actuality used to allure the
voters.
It is also very important and relevant to mention here that the
BJP has been declared Public Authority by the CIC; for effective enjoyment of
Fundamental Rights of citizens, i.e., Right to Information. However, even after
attainment of finality of judgment of CIC, the Respondent BJP has failed to implement
the RTI Act in its office, due to which the Petitioner is unable to get any
information regarding the implementation of its Manifesto. It is also very
relevant and important to mention here that the concept of locus-standai is
foreign to the RTI Act, as the information seeker is not required to give any
reason for seeking information.
It
is in the interest of healthy democracy that the public authority, i.e., the
winning political in the present case, should act fairly and should implement
its promise, so long as implementation does not interfere with its statutory duty.
Where a public authority has issued a promise or adopted a practice, which
represents how it proposes to act in a given area, the law, will require the
promise or practice to be honoured unless there is good reason not to do so.
In
case where the winning political party had made known how it intends to
exercise powers on coming to power, which affect the public at large, it may be
held to its words. The legitimate expectation in such a case is that the winning
party on forming of Government will behave towards its citizens as it pledged.
The
principle, that good administration requires public authorities to be held to
their promises, would be undermined if the law does not take care to ensure the implementation of
the pledges made by an important pillar of the democracy.
Therefore, due to the
failure of the BJP, its allies and other concerned authorities, in their public
duty to protect the Fundamental Right of not only the Petitioner, but also of
the lakhs and lakhs citizens, the Petitioner is constrained to approach this
Honourable Court under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India.
************
.............. Petitioner
belongs to an agricultural family involved in agriculture since immemorial
time. Petitioner is having 1/15 share, i.e., 9 Kanal 7 Marla, out of total land
measuring 140 Kanal 7 marla comprised in Khewat No.878,, Khatooni No. 1036,
Khasara/Rectangle No. 139//17, 18/1, 24, 25, 291//21, 312//1, 9, 10, 11, 12,
17, 18, 19, 20, 313//5, 6, 15, 16/1, 786, 1741, land is situated in the revenue estate of Village – Balu,
Tehsil – Kalayat, District-Kaithal, (Haryana) and as the Petitioner’s district
just shares boundary with the Patiala District, therefore, the Petitioner has
agriculture interest in the state of Punjab through his near and dear
relations. Therefore, the Petitioner is having direct as well as indirect
interest in the subject matter of this petition
However, by profession the Petitioner is
presently a practicing lawyer, primarily, in the Supreme Court and the High
Court of Punjab & Haryana. Earlier, the Petitioner has also rendered his
services to the Central Information Commission and National Investigation
Agency, as a Law Officer/Legal Consultant.
..............
India is an agriculture country with around 60% of its population depending
on directly or indirectly upon agriculture. But today India has seen a decline
in the number of individuals who engage in agriculture for living. In a decade
between 2001 and 2011, the Govt. estimated that the number of Indian farmers
declined by 9 million people which marks the first absolute decline in this
segment of the population since 1971.
The agrarian
distress has led farmers to commit suicide. The major causes are unfinished
agenda in land reforms, quantity and quality of water, technology fatigue,
adequacy and timeliness of institutional credit, opportunities for assured and ruminative
marketing, adverse metrological factors, poverty, debts etc. And, the decline
interest in agriculture has led to migration towards cities in search of
employment, which has resulted into the disproportionate burden on the
amenities to people in cities.
1997-2003 That
the farmers in India became the centre for considerable concern in the 1990s
when the large numbers of suicides among them were highlighted. According to
the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) between the year 1997-2003 there were
1, 13,872 farm suicides, an average of 16,267 a year.
1999 The Law Commission of India in their
170th Report on “Reform of Electoral Laws (1999)” in strongly
worded words spoke about the accountability of the political parties. The relevant Para of the Law Commission’s
report is extracted below:-
“On the parity of the above
reasoning, it must be said that
if democracy and accountability constitute the core of
our constitutional system, the same concepts must also apply to and bind the Political Parties which are
integral to
parliamentary democracy. It is the Political Parties that form the Government, man the Parliament and run the governance of the country. It is therefore, necessary to
introduce internal
democracy, financial transparency and accountability in the working of the Political Parties. A political
party, which does not respect democratic principles in its internal working,
cannot be expected to respect those principles in the governance of the country. It cannot be dictatorship internally
and
democratic in its functioning outside”.
10.02.2004 That looking
at agrarian crisis leading to farmer suicides and stagnant production, National
Commission on farmers was constituted.
2004-2013 That in the
years 2004-2013 the National Crime Records Bureau is repeatedly highlighting
the problem of farmers’ suicides. On average, every year, about 16, 263 farmers
commit suicide. That means that on average 45 farmers or almost one every 32
minutes killed themselves each days between 2004 and 2012.
It is
pertinent to bring to kind notice of this Hon’ble Court that former Minister of
State for Agriculture, Govt. of India, Shri Harish Rawat informed the Rajya
Sabha on 19.12.2011 in a written reply that 2,90,740 farmers committed suicide
between 1995-2011. The data of the National Crime Records Bureau between the
years 2004-13 is annexed herewith as ANNEXURE P-1 (COLLY)
04.10.2006 The National
Commission on Farmers, Minister of Agriculture, Govt. of India, popularly known
as Swami Nathan Commission, submitted its Fifth and Final Report, on 4 October 2006.
True and correct copy of the final report dated 04.10.2006 is annexed as ANNEXURE
P-2
29.04.2008 The
Central Information Commissions in its decision dated 29.04.2008 in File No.
CIC/AT/A/2007/01029 & 01263-01270.
Para 28 of of the decision may be relevant which is extracted below :-
“28. Political Parties are a unique institution of the modern
constitutional State. These are essentially civil society institutions and are,
therefore, nongovernmental. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that in spite of
being nongovernmental, Political Parties come to wield or directly or
indirectly influence, exercise of governmental power. It is this link between
State power and Political Parties that has assumed critical significance in the
context of the Right of Information – an Act which has brought into focus the
imperatives of transparency in the functioning of State institutions. It would
be facetious to argue that transparency is good for all State organs, but not
so good for the Political Parties, which control the most important of those
organs. For example, it will be a fallacy to hold that transparency is good for
the bureaucracy but not good enough for the Political Parties which control
those bureaucracies through political executives”.
December 2010 That on
the lines of the report of the Committee of Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, the
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of
India constituted a group of Chief Ministers on Agriculture Production under
the chairmanship of the then Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Bhupinder Singh,
Hooda in December, 2010 and accordingly it submitted its report. But so far, no
action appears to have been taken on this report. This report reiterated the
recommendations of the report by Prof. M.S. Swaminathan. The true copy of the
report of the Group of Chief Ministers is annexed herewith as ANNEXURE P-3.
03.06.2013 The Full
Bench of the Central Information Commission (CIC) vide its decision dated 03.06.2013
in File No. CIC/SM/C/2011/001386 held that
the political parties including the respondent
national political parties are Public Authority under the RTI Act. By
and large, the national political parties have been declared Public Authorities
on the below mentioned grounds:
(A) Legal/General
(a) that the Political Parties are the building blocks of a constitutional democracy;
(b) Under Tenth Schedule
of the Constitution, a Political Party can have a Member of the House disqualified in certain circumstances;
(c) a Political Party is required to be registered by the Election Commission of
India under section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951;
(d) Under
section 29C of the RP Act, 1951, a Political Party is required to submit a report
for each Financial Year to the Election Commission of India in respect of
contributions received by it in excess of 20,000/- rupees from any person as also contributions in
excess of
20,000/- rupees received from non-Government companies;
(e) that in exercise of its powers under Article 324 read with section 29A of the RP Act, 1951 ,
and rules 5 & 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, the Election Commission has issued Election Symbols(Reservation & Allotment)
Order, 1968, under which election symbols
are
allotted to various National/State Political Parties;
(f) that Election Commission can suspend or withdraw
recognition of a recognized political party
in the event of violation of provisions of
Election Symbol(Reservation & Allotment)
Order, 1968;
(g) that Central Information Commission’s order
dated
29.4.2008
directing the
Political Parties to disclose their Income Tax Returns holds the field and is being
complied with.
(B) Financial
(a) that the Land & Development Office of the Ministry of Urban Development has allotted large tracts of land in Delhi to various Political Parties either free of
cost or at concessional rates;
(b)
that
the Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Urban Development,
has allotted accommodation in Delhi to various Political Parties on rental basis at concessional rates;
(c)
that
Political Parties have been
claiming and granted
total tax exemption under section 13A of the Income Tax Act for all their income;
(d)
that the State has been indirectly financing Political Parties by way of free air time on All India Radio and Doordarshan of India during the elections;
(e)
that
recognized
Political Parties are issued copies of electoral
rolls by the Election Commission, free of cost, at the time of elections.
In may be very
relevant and important to mention here that none
of the national political parties have approached the higher courts in appeal
or writ petition, and that this was in accordance with the Attorney-General’s
advice, which recognized the legal strength and normativeness of the
Commission’s order of 03.06.2013. Therefore,
the CIC’s order has attained finality.
Therefore, in the wake of the
legally binding judgement of the Central Information Commission the Respondent
National Political Party is under statutory obligation to implement the
provisions of the RTI Act, especially, the suo motu disclosure
of information; as envisaged in the Section – 4 of the RTI Act, the important
provisions of the Section – 4 of the RTI Act, which has bearing on the issue
involved in the present case, are reproduced below:
(iii) the
procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of
supervision and accountability.
(iv) the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions;
(vii) the
particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation
by, the members of the public in relation to the formulation of its policy or
implementation thereof;
(viii) a
statement of the boards, councils, committees and other bodies consisting of
two or more persons constituted as its part or for the purpose of its advice,
and as to whether meetings of those boards, councils, committees and other
bodies are open to the public, or the minutes of such meetings are accessible
for public;
(xv) the
particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information,
including the working hours of a library or reading room, if maintained for
public use;
(c) publish all
relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions
which affect public;
(d) provide
reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial decisions to affected
persons.”
However, due to non-implementation of
the RTI Act, the Petitioner is unable to get any information about the step
taken by BJP to implement its pledges to voters.
05.07.2013 The
Honourable Supreme Court of India in CIVIL
APPEAL NO. 5130 OF 2013 while dealing with the issue of freebies offered in the
manifesto of the political parties held that, “considering that there is no enactment that directly governs the contents of the election manifesto, we hereby direct the
Election Commission to frame guidelines for the
same in
consultation with
all the recognized political
parties
as when
it had acted while framing guidelines
for general conduct
of
the candidates, meetings, processions, polling
day, party in
power etc.
In the similar way,
a separate head
for guidelines for election manifesto
released by a political party can also
be
included in
the Model
Code of Conduct for the
Guidance of
Political Parties &
Candidates. ‘Election Commission to take up this task,
(i.e. the task of framing guidelines on Election Manifesto) as early as
possible owing to its utmost importance’.
12.08.2013 That in
the wake of the judgment of the Honourable Supreme Court, the Election
Commission of India on 12th August 2013 held a meeting with
representatives of National and State recognized Parties at Nirvachan Sadan, in
New Delhi on formulation of guidelines for election manifestos. All the six
National parties attended the meeting while, 24 State Parties participated out
of 45 who were invited.
2014 That
considering the paramount importance of the Farmers’suicide problem the
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, for the first
time, collected detailed data on farmers’suicides and emphasised that the
problem of farmers’suicides, immediately, needs to be addressed by the
Government. The NCRB observed that total of 5, 650 farmers committed suicides
during the year 2014. The Chapter 2A of the NCRB Report of 2014 is annexed
herewith as ANNEXURE P-4
19.02.2014 That the Respondent Election Commission of India, vide letter no.
3716/Manifesto/2013, 19 February 2014 in the name of guidelines the Election Commission has issued only below
mentioned guidelines:
i.
“The
election manifesto shall not contain anything repugnant to the ideals and
principles enshrined in the constitution and further that it shall be
consistent with the letter and spirit of other provisions of Model Code of
Conduct.
ii.
The
political parties should avoid making those promises, which are likely to
vitiate the purity of the election process or exert undue influence on the
voters in exercising their franchise.
iii.
In the
interest of transparency, level playing field and credibility of promises, it
is expected that manifestos also reflect the rationale for the promises and.
broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirements for it.
Trust of voters should be sought only on those promises which are possible to
be fulfilled.”
The above guidelines are very vague
and provide lot of scope to the political parties to release the bogus
manifesto-containing bundle of lies; which has the tendency to vitiate the
purity of the election process and exert undue influence on the voters in
exercising their franchise. Ultimately, it goes on to disturb the
level-playing field in the elections. The true copy of the letter
no. 3716/manifesto/2013, 19 February 2014 of the Election Commission of India
is attached herewith as ANNEXURE P-5
07.04.2014 That
the Bhatiya Janata Party (BJP)
released in its Election Manifesto for the General Loksabha Election, 2014. In
the manifesto, apart from other promises BJP ‘Pledged’ to voters to ‘Quality life in Villages’ and ‘Flourishing Agriculture’ and few of the pledges reads, “Agriculture is the engine of India's economic growth and the largest
employer, and BJP commits highest priority to agricultural growth, increase in
farmer's income and rural development.”
BJP WILL:
·
increase public
investment in agriculture and rural development.
·
take steps to
enhance the profitability in agriculture, by ensuring a minimum of 50% profits
over the cost of production, cheaper agriculture inputs and credit...
·
Put in place
welfare measures for farmers above 60 years in age, small and marginal farmers
and farm labours.
·
evolve a single 'National
Agriculture Market'..
The true copy of the BJP Election Manifesto for the General Loksabha
Election, 2014 is annexed herewith as ANNEXURE P-6
ELECTION
MANIFESTO
CONCEPT AND
RELEVANCE
A manifesto is generally defined as a published
declaration of the intentions, motives or views of an individual, group,
political party or government whosoever issues it. A manifesto usually
comprises a previously published opinion or public consensus and/or promotes a
new idea with prescriptive notions for carrying out changes for future. Oxford
dictionary defines manifesto as a public declaration of the policy and aims of
a group such as political party. Thus an election manifesto is a published
document containing declaration of the ideology, intentions, views, policies
and programmes of a political party. The Election Manifestos are generally
drafted by the Political Parties keeping an eye on forthcoming elections and
are generally published and well publicized.
As already stated above, the election manifesto
normally contains the declared ideology of the political Party concerned in
general and its policies and programmes for the Country/State and people at
large. It therefore serves as a reference document or benchmark for the public
at large for what a political party stands for. By comparing the ideologies,
policies and programmes of the political parties, the electors can decide which
party they should vote for to meet their expectations and aspirations.
In
recent years many National and State parties are publishing their manifestos
for each general election and these manifestos generally contain, in addition
to the basic ideology of the parties, major policies, viz Economic Policy,
foreign policy, Plans, programmes and issues for governance, if they come to
power.
2014 That as
the majority of voters in India including Haryana and Punjab, directly or
indirectly, are dependent on agriculture, therefore, by trusting the promises for
farm its Manifesto people voted BJP to power, with clear majority in Loksabha
Elections.
02.10.2014 That BJP Haryana
also released similar Election Manifesto and apart from other promises, it
pledged to the farmer of Haryana ‘to enhance the profitability in
agriculture, by ensuring a minimum of 50% profits over the cost of production’And
sought the votes from the farmers of Haryana. The true copy of the BJP Haryana Election Manifesto for the General Loksabha
Election, 2014 is annexed herewith as ANNEXURE P-7
-------------- That
Sh O P Dhankhar, the present Agriculture
Minister in the Haryana, on his website claims to be a significant activist on national level for farmer's issues, contents
reads “O P Dhankhar has envisioned and agitated for reforms in farming
sector. He has organized campaigns and awareness drives across nations to push
for implementation of Swaminathan Report. BJP Kisan Morcha has been demanding
for implementation of recommendation of MS Swaminathan Commission, whereby 50
per cent profit on input cost should be given to farmers. BJP had even promised
in its election manifesto to implement Swaminathan Commission recommendation.
As Kisan Morcha national president, O. P. Dhankhar works on a range of
issues e.g. Land Acquisition, Pesticide Management, Farmers' Suicide, Farming
Reforms & Swaminathan Report Implementation. However, after winning
elections by influencing and misleading the farmers, the present Agriculture
Minister appears to have taken no step towards the implementation of Swami
Nathan Commission recommendations for agricultural reforms.’The true
print out of the website contents is annexed herewith as ANNEXURE P-8
19.10.214 BJP first time won
elections in Haryana with clear majority; as the majority of voters in Haryana
are, directly or indirectly, dependent on agriculture, therefore, the BJP
managed to get the votes of farmers of Haryana on the basis of promises made in
its Menifesto. People voted BJP to power with thumping majority.
............ That the Election
Manifesto of a Political Party is an offer in the way of a proposal by a
Political Party to voters, whereby it expresses its willingness to enter into a
contractual obligation in- return for a promise, to act or forbearance. Section
2(a) of the Indian Contract Act defines proposal or offer as "when one
person signifies to another his willingness to do or abstain from doing
anything with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to such act or
abstinence, he is said to make a proposal."
And, the
communication of the offer may be general or specific. Where an offer is made to
a specific person it is called specific offer and it can be accepted
only by that person. But when an offer is addressed to an uncertain body of
individuals i.e. the world at large, it is a general offer and can be
accepted by any member of the general public by fulfilling the condition laid
down in the offer. The leading case on the subject is Carlill v. Carbolic
Smoke Ball Co. The company offered by advertisement, a reward of £ 100 to
anyone who contacted influenza after using their smoke ball in the specified
manner. Mrs. Carlill did use smoke ball in the specified manner, but was
attacked by influenza. She claimed the reward and it was held that she could
recover the reward as general offer can be accepted by anybody. Since this
offer is of a continuing nature, more than one person can accept it and can
even claim the reward. But if the offer of reward is for seeking some information
or seeking the restoration of missing thing, then the offer can be accepted by
one individual who does it fi rst of all. The condition is that the claimant
must have prior knowledge of the reward before doing that act or providing that
information.
In India also, in the
case of Harbhajan Lal v. Harcharan Lal (AlA 1925 All. 539), the
same rule was applied. In this case, a young boy ran away from his father's
home. The father issued a pamphlet offering a reward of As. 500 to anybody who
would bring the boy home. The plaintiff saw the boy at a railway station and
sent a telegram to the boy's father. It was held that the handbill was an offer
open to the world at large and was capable to acceptance by any person who
fulfilled the conditions contained in the offer. The plaintiff substantially
performed the conditions and was entitled to the. reward offered.
December 2014 National
Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MOSPI), Government of India, In its 70th round of survey, conducted during the period 1st
January, 2013 to 31st December,2013, NSSO carried out a Situation Assessment
Survey of Agricultural Households and during survey about 63.5 percent of the agricultural households reported cultivation as their principal source of income. Other highlights of survey are:
3.4.1 Average monthly income and consumption expenditure:
At all-India level, average monthly income per agricultural household during
the
agricultural year July 2012- June 2013 was estimated as Rs.6426/-.
During the reference
period,
net receipt
from farm business (cultivation and
farming of animals) accounted for 60 percent of the average monthly income per agricultural household in the country. Nearly 32 percent of the average monthly income was contributed
by income from wages/ salary.During the same period, the average monthly consumption
expenditure per agricultural household
was Rs.6223/-.
3.4.2 Indebtedness of agricultural households:
The
Statement reveals that about 52 percent of the agricultural households in the
country were estimated to be indebted. The average amount of outstanding loan
per agricultural household was Rs.47000/- (approx.). And, specifically in
Punjab the proportion of indebted agricultural households is: 53.2%. True copy
of the Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households is annexed
herewith as ANNEXURE P-9
------------ The Political Parties
constitute one of the most important institutions in a constitutional
democracy. Prof. Harold J Laski in his classic text “Grammar of Politics” says
that the life of a democratic State is built upon the party system. Without
Political Parties, there would be no means available of enlisting the popular
decisions in a politically satisfactory manner.
POLITICAL PARTIES: BUILDING
BLOCKS OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY.
The
Political Parties are the building blocks of a constitutional democracy. All
modern democracies operate on a party system, some with two as in the USA and
some others with multiple Political Parties like in India. The Political
Parties mobilize public opinion around their ideologies and beliefs and contest
elections to form government. No democracy can exist today without Political
Parties. An ordinary citizen does not have direct access to the government
except through his elected representative and cannot hope to be part of the
government without being a member of a Political Party. His membership of a
legislature depends on his membership of a Political Party to begin with. It
is, thus, through the Political Parties that the citizens of a democracy operationalise
the democratic state. The existence of Political Parties gives the citizens of
a country a viable means to give shape to their political aspirations and
beliefs by forming a government of their choice. It will, therefore, not be an
exaggeration to say that no Political Party, no democracy. In view of this
central importance that they enjoy that the Political Parties have been given
in our country such enormous powers and benefits, through both constitutional
and statutory arrangements so that they can fulfil their just roles in
representing their constituents.
Therefore,
it would be completely unreasonable and out of tune with democratic principles
to accept that the accountability is good for all State organs but not so good
for Political Parties even their commitments in their manifesto, which, in
reality, control all the vital organs of the State. It baffles the common human
prudence that in democracy the political parties are not accountable to their
masters, i.e. ‘we the people of India’ for their self-propagated commitments.
Harold Joseph Laski a British political
theorist, economist, author, and
lecturer’s work in his famous book A Grammar of Politics is very important and relevant here. To quote him:
“The life of the democratic State is built upon the party-system and it is important at the outset to discuss the part played by party in the arrangement of affairs. Briefly, that part may be best described by saying that parties arrange the issues upon which people are to
vote. It is obvious that in the confused welter of the modern State, there must be some selection of problems as more urgent than others. It is necessary to select them as urgent and to
present solutions of them, which may be acceptable to
the citizen-body. It is that task of selection, the party undertakes.
It acts, in Mr. Lowell’s phrase, as the broker of ideas. From the mass of opinions, sentiments, beliefs, by which the electorate
moves, it chooses out those it judges most likely to meet with general acceptance. It organizes persons to advocate its own view of their meaning. It states that view as the issue upon which the voter has to make up his mind. Its power enables it to put forward for
election candidates who are willing to identify themselves with its
view.
Since its opponents will do the same, the electorate,
thereby, is enabled to vote as a mass
and decision that would otherwise be chaotic, assumes some coherency and direction.”
Therefore, the Political Parties are the life
and blood of
our polity. As observed by Laski “The life of
the democratic state is built upon the party system”. Elections are contested on party basis. The Political Parties select some problems as more urgent than others and present solutions to them which may be acceptable to the citizens. The ruling party draws its development programs based
on its political agenda. It is responsible for the growth and development of the society and the nation.
Political Parties affect the lives of citizens, directly or indirectly, in every conceivable
way and
are continuously engaged
in performing public duty. It is, therefore, important that they became accountable to the public.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ON THE PRESENT ISSUE
10th
Schedule (I) The Political Parties hold constitutional status and wield
constitutional powers under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution in as much
as they have the power to -
(a) disqualify legislators from Parliament and State Assemblies;
(b) bind legislators in their speeches and voting inside the
house;
(c) decide what laws are made;
(d) decide whether Government remains in power or which Government
should come to power;
(e) decide public policies that affect lives of millions of people
(II)
As per Article 102 (2) of the Constitution, a person can be disqualified from being a member
of either House of Parliament under the Tenth Schedule and that a similar provision exists for the State Legislators under Article 191(2) of the Constitution.
Furthermore, as per Article 102(2), if a member
of a House belonging to a Political Party votes or abstains from
voting in the House contrary to the directions issued by the Political Party, he is liable to be disqualified from
being a Member of the House.
(III)
The Political Parties have
been given statutory status under Section 29A of the Representation of the
People Act, 1951.
(IV)
Under Section 29A (5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, the Political Parties are required to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of
India as by law established.
(V)
The Political Parties give
tickets to the candidates and the people vote on party symbols and, thus, the
Political Parties are important instrumentalities of democratic governance.
In fact, in the Institution of democracy, the political parties
embody the will of the people and carry
all their expectations that democracy will be truly
responsive to their needs and help solve the most pressing problems that confront them in the
daily lives.
Political
Parties have constitutional and statutory status. It is his contention that
incorporation of Articles 102(2) and 191(2) through the 42nd Amendment and the
10th Schedule to the Constitution has given constitutional status to the
Political Parties.
Therefore,
the Political Parties are the lifeblood of the entire constitutional scheme in
a democratic polity. In fact, the entire democratic set-up revolves around the
Political Parties. And, all public functions are performed by the political
parties in the constitutional democracy.
The
Election Commission of India under Elections Symbols (Reservation and
Allotment) Order, 1968, promulgated under article 324 of the Constitution and
Rules 5 & 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, grants symbols to
various Political Parties for election purposes for the recognition of
Political Parties and can suspend or withdraw recognition of recognized
Political Parties on their failure to observe model code of conduct or not
following the lawful directions and instructions of the Commission. It is
indicative of the public character of the Political Parties. Hence, the life of
a democratic State is built upon the party system.
24.04.2015 The
Election Commission of India vide letter dated 24th April, 2015,
while issuing guidelines to all the political parties directed that, “Whenever a political party releases its manifesto
for whichever election conducted by commission, a hard copy of the same along
with a soft copy may be sent to the commission for its record. This may be done
for the elections conducted henceforth”
Election Commission of India’s letter dated 24th April 2015 is
annexed herewith as ANNEXURE P-10
23.01.2016 That the Petitioner with a view to redress his grievance had
sent a representation dated 23.01.2016 to the Respondents and other concerned
parties. However, so far, no response from any quarter except the Commission on
Fa expressing its inability to take any action towards agricultural reforms.
The true copy of the representation dated 23.01.2016 is annexed herewith as ANNEXURE
P-11
08.02.2016 The Petitioner received a letter
dated 08.02.2016 from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,
Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices, intimating that the implementation
of Swami Nathan Commission Report is outside of its purview. The true copy of
the letter dated 08.02.2016 is annexed herewith as ANNEXURE P-12
19.02.2016 Hence, due to the failure of the BJP and other concerned
authorities in their public duty to protect the interest of Petitioner and millions
of citizens, the Petitioner is constrained to approach this Honourable Court
under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India.
DATED: 19.02.2016 (PARDEEP KUMAR RAPRIA)
PLACE: CHANDIGARH PETITIONER IN PERSON
No comments:
Post a Comment