A “people’s manifesto” released by civil rights groups ahead of the upcoming Assembly election in Rajasthan has called upon political parties to give the highest priority to citizens’ democratic rights. The manifesto was released on Wednesday in the presence of representatives from the ruling Congress, Opposition BJP, and other parties.
Activists from the Rajasthan Election Watch and Suchna Evum Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan prepared the manifesto in consultation with citizens, social organisations, and experts in different fields. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan founder-member Nikhil Dey said the manifesto would affirm the people’s right to monitor the polls and keep a watch on the conduct of candidates.
Awareness yatra
The activists complained that the Election Commission (EC) had not given its nod for a proposed yatra to be undertaken by Rajasthan Election Watch ahead of the Assembly polls to generate awareness among the voters. People’s Union for Civil Liberties president Kavita Srivastava said that though permission had been sought on October 23, there was no response from the EC so far.
“We are considering the option of approaching the Rajasthan High Court on the issue through a [writ] petition, as this amounts to an infringement of the democratic rights of people,” Ms. Srivastava said.
Social activist and Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy said that since the people had the “supreme voice” in a democracy, they should exercise their franchise wisely. “With the space for dissent constantly shrinking in the country and restrictions being imposed on the freedom of speech, our responsibility to defend democracy has increased manifold,” Ms. Roy said.
Questionable candidates
The Congress party’s manifesto committee member Sitaram Lamba, BJP’s Rakhi Rathore, Aam Aadmi Party’s I.V. Gupta, Communist Party of India’s Tara Singh Siddhu, CPI (Marxist)’s Sanjay Madhav, and Samajwadi Party’s Shailendra Awasthi were among those who attended the Jan Manch, or people’s forum, where the manifesto was released.
Dalit activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi raised a concern about the BJP giving a ticket to Bari MLA Girraj Singh Malinga, who had allegedly assaulted a Dalit engineer in his constituency last year. “The BJP’s action of inducting Mr. Malinga into the party and fielding him from the same seat has revealed its anti-Dalit mindset. The victim is still undergoing treatment in the hospital,” he said.
The activists also took exception to the BJP’s decision to field former MLA Kanwar Lal Meena from Anta despite his alleged involvement in a violent attack on a Jawabdehi Yatra, or accountability march, in Jhalawar district in 2016. The incident had attracted attention to the movement to highlight corruption rampant in public life and fix accountability.
A large number of people from several districts participated in the function and took a pledge to raise the issues highlighted in the people’s manifesto in their own constituencies. These local activists will approach the candidates of different parties and obtain a promise from them to work for the protection of people’s rights, they said.
