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Time to take up ‘Right to Reject' proposal: Quraishi
- Asking the government to take up electoral reforms in the coming session of Parliament, Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi on Sunday said the time had come to consider the ‘Right to Reject' proposal.
- Under this, voters would have the right to reject all the candidates in the fray if they find none to be suitable.
- The CEC said a number of electoral reforms had been pending with the government and sought a beginning in this regard.
- Turning down the idea of state funding, Mr. Quraishi said it would not help in curbing the use of black money in elections.
- He also rejected the idea of making voting compulsory as was done in some countries like Australia.
- In Australia too it is working hopelessly ... It is practically impossible,” he said, adding such a law could lead to crores of cases because the law had to be implemented properly.
- Mr. Quraishi also sought more powers for the EC to deregister parties indulging in malpractices and to fix the limit for money to be spent in elections.
- The CEC sought a ban on all political advertisements by incumbent governments six months ahead of elections. He also sought a ban on opinion polls ahead of polls, though the exit polls had been banned as per law.
- There should also be a ban on any kind of advertisement 48 hours before the polls to enable the voters to decide on their own. At present, print media is allowed to have advertisements. We want even print media ads by political parties and leaders be banned
Figures bust myth India's bureaucracy is “bloated”
- Long reviled for being bloated, India's Central and State governments in fact have just a fifth as many public servants as the United States, relative to population.
- The figures raise doubts, ahead of a Union budget that is likely to slash social-sector spending, on whether the country has the personnel it needs to improve governance and ensure universal access to services like education and health.
- Data compiled from multiple sources, including a 2008 official survey, Right to Information applications, media reports and the 2011 census show, India has 1,622.8 government servants for every 100,000 residents. In stark contrast, the U.S. has 7,681.
- This figure dips further if the 1,394,418 people working for the Railways, accounting for 44.81 per cent of the entire Central government workforce, are removed.
- The Central government's figures also show that 59.69 per cent of public servants belonged to Group C and another 29.37 per cent to Group D — the two lowest paid categories. Though these workers are important, the numbers suggest there are system-wide shortages of skilled staff and administrators.
- Eminent economist V.K. Ramachandran says: “One of the most important lessons of the economic history of modern nations is that the most crucial requirements of social transformation can only be delivered by the public authority. A government that does not pay for skilled personnel to deliver education, health and land reform is one that condemns its people to under-development.”
- “People keep complaining the government is too big, but the figures show that it is in fact too anaemic to govern the country.”
- Sikkim, with 6,394.89 public servants per 100,000, no State comes close to the international levels.
- Bihar has just 457.60 per 100,000, Madhya Pradesh 826.47, Uttar Pradesh has 801.67, Orissa 1,191.97 and Chhattisgarh 1,174.62.
- This is not to suggest there is a causal link between poverty and low levels of public servants: Gujarat has just 826.47 per 100,000 and Punjab 1,263.34.
Mandana art getting killed by urbanisation
- Mandana, a popular folk art meant to grace the floors and walls of rural homes, is on the verge of extinction due to rapid urbanisation in Rajasthan
- Urbanisation is killing this rich art by rustic women as the mud houses are disappearing and concrete houses coming up
- There is deep scientific and tantric approach in the circular, squire and hexameter diagrams of Mandana. The art is logic with scientific approach
- The designs of Mandana are mainly drawn on the mud and crimson red soil-smeared platforms with white lime paste, k
