'Transparency movement' enters crucial phase

By Sunny Sebastian

BEAWAR, APRIL 6. The five-year-old `transparency movement' in the country entered another crucial phase today with a carefully drafted Beawar Statement calling for bringing the corporate sector, the judiciary, media and the NGOs under its purview. Drafted by a team of experts, the four-page treatise sought more teeth to the existing Acts in the States but confessed that the most crucial part of it was the implementation. At the end of a three-day session, convened by the National Committee for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the movement in the very town in Rajasthan's Ajmer district where it rose and spread, people from various walks of life including politicians and two Chief Ministers endorsed the movement as the only ``ray of hope'' for the country's democracy.

``Whereas the people's right to information is inherent in the fundamental rights to life, liberty and expression, the convention seeks the passage of strong laws by Central and State Governments to further safeguard the Right to Information,'' the Statement, read before a mixed crowd of villagers and urban elite from various parts of the country, said. The statement was drafted by an expert panel led by Prof. Jean Drez and Mr. Harsh Mandar.

``We also notice that rules alone are not enough. There should be awareness among the public and fear of law among the functionaries,'' the Rajasthan Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Gehlot who was the chief guest at the concluding function observed. ``It is not so easy to implement the laws. This is evident from the fact that thousands of children get married on Akha Teej in Rajasthan despite a `Sharada Act', enacted half a century back to stop child marriages,'' he noted. The Chief Minister who went to the extent of saying that those involved in the movement could count on him as one of them, however, left without answering questions posed by three chosen representatives from the crowd, brought forward by the Magsaysay Award Winner, Ms. Aruna Roy, the moving spirit behind the campaign.

The Chief Minister was listened to with attention with crowd and the gathering on the dais who included Mr. Prabash Joshi, veteran journalist, leaders such as Mr. Rabi Ray, Mr. Kishen Patnaik, Mr. Surendra Mohan and MLAs from the area besides leading social activists from all over the country. But his leaving the venue without answering the questions from the crowd, mostly pertaining to drought relief, left them a bit disappointed.

``Rajasthan employed more persons under drought relief during the previous drought season,'' Mr. Gehlot said. ``The State is giving a minimum wage of Rs. 60 which is even more than economically- sound States such as Gujarat,'' he said mentioning that it was on the request of Ms. Aruna Roy and companions that he had raised the minimum wages from the previous Rs. 40 last season. He accepted that there were many loopholes in the existing setup. ``We have to find ways to correct the system,'' he said.

Mr. Gehlot promised to sit with Ms. Roy and Mr. Prabash Joshi in Jaipur to discuss the issues pertaining aspects of drought relief at a later time. ``I am willing to open the accounts of the State Government to you,'' he said before leaving for his scheduled public functions elsewhere in the region including a visit to the communally-disturbed Nasirabad town. The din of the unusual convention which also had performances of village artists, exhibitions of crafts and books on human rights and transparency, would not die down easily.

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