No body has
asked me to prepare an election manifesto for the Aam Aadmi Party Kerala. This
manifesto is purely imaginary. Suppose I am asked to prepare a draft manifesto
for Aam Aadmi Party, Kerala Unit for the next Assembly (not Parliament)
election it will be along the following lines.
Formation of
Government
The Aam Aadmi Party Government will
have a small cabinet having only 11 ministers including the Chief Minister
instead of present 20 ministers. This will reduce government expenditure
considerably.
As far as possible ministers’
quarters will be government owned buildings and if at all any private buildings
have to be rented, they will invariably be small houses. Only minimum amount
will be spent for the repairs and maintenance of government buildings.
Ministers will not use red beacon lights on their vehicles and there will be no
police escorts for ministers. Instead Police will be spared for more useful
works of keeping law and order and investigating crimes than waiting on the
roads for smooth travel of ministers. The ministers are people’s servants and
their shield for protection is the love, trust and respect of the people. The
day they lose these, they don’t deserve to be ministers.
Functioning
of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
Legislature is meant for making laws to regulate the
functioning of the state and public affairs of the citizens. Only if proper and
detailed discussions take place in the Legislature, good laws can be created.
But the Kerala Assembly met only for 37 days last year. If Aam Aadmi Party
comes into power in Kerala, it will be made mandatory for the Assembly to meet
at least 150 days in a year. Dies non
(No work, no pay) will be implemented in the case of MLAs also as in the case
of government servants. Those MLAs who boycott the Assembly on any day will not
get their pay and allowances for that day.
Political work is voluntary work and a MLA works as a
volunteer only. So he is not eligible for a pension like a full time permanent
employee of the government. Soon on coming to power in the state, the party
will abolish pension of MLAs. Personal staff of ministers is political
appointment from ruling parties and temporary in nature unlike permanent
employees of the government. So the pension of personal staff of ministers will
be abolished.
Similarly MLA fund has become one of the sources of
corruption and mismanagement of government money. Practice of allowing MLA fund
will be discontinued immediately if AAP comes to power in Kerala. Instead an
equal fixed lump sum amount will be allotted to all constituencies in the state
and this fund will be utilized for the development work of each constituency
under the direction and supervision of a representative Jana Sabha constituted
for this purpose, comprising representatives from various ward sabhas or gram
sabhas in the constituency.
Corruption
in government offices will be wiped out within 6 months after formation of government.
For eradicating corruption in government offices and weeding
out the corrupt officials from government departments following steps will be
taken. Soon on taking charge AAP government will ask all officials to submit a
personal asset and liability statement including that of their wives, children
etc. Random vigilance examination of at least 25% of these special asset
statements will be conducted and explanations called for, for any substantial
variations found out. If it is proved beyond doubt that an official has amassed
wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income, he will be enquired,
summarily dismissed and prosecuted. His ill-gotten wealth will be confiscated. From
then onwards every year all the government officials will be asked to submit
their asset and liability statements.
Detailed verification and scrutiny of the statements of at least 10%
will be done and on the spot search and seizure will be conducted. If it is
proved beyond doubt that any official has made disproportionate income and
assets during the year, explanations will be called for and if explanations are
found unsatisfactory, the person will be dismissed from service. Apart from
this, traps will be set by the Vigilance and anti-corruption department to
verify the honesty and credentials of officers and those found failing will be
dismissed.
Independence
of the Police Department.
Police will be given full freedom in
implementing law and order and prevention of crimes. In order to ensure the
freedom of the police department the transfers and postings of police officers
of and above the rank of District Police Superintendents will be taken away
from Home Department and vested with a Police Commission. The members of the
Police Commission will be the home minister, leader of the opposition, Chief
Justice and another Judge of the High Court of Kerala and the Chairman of the
Lok Ayukta. The Vigilance and anti-corruption department will be brought under
the control of the Lok Ayukta. No political interference will be allowed in the
functioning of the police department or vigilance and anti-corruption bureau.
Education
The efficiency and standards of
government and aided schools and colleges will be substantially improved.
Though unaided public schools will be allowed to function, utmost care will be
given to improve the functioning of government and aided schools and colleges. The
teachers and lecturers of these schools and colleges will be appointed purely
on the basis of merit. The teachers of aided schools and colleges are paid by
the government and so the authority to appoint them must also be vested with
the government. Therefore henceforward the teachers in aided schools and the
lecturers in aided colleges will be appointed by government through Public
Service Commission. The standard of the government and aided schools and
colleges will be improved so high that nobody will need to send their children
to unaided schools and self-reliant colleges. Education will not be free. Those
who can afford to pay fees will be charged a fee for their wards’ education.
Those who are below poverty line and also scheduled caste and scheduled tribe
children will be given free education.
Health
Quality health services will be
provided in government hospitals and government medical colleges. This will be
at par with any private speciality hospitals and patients will voluntarily come
to government hospitals for treatment. Here also those who can afford will have
to pay required fees. All below poverty line will be given free treatment.
Government doctors will be given attractive salary, but private practice will
be strictly forbidden.
Industry
Aam Aadmi Party will not be against
free enterprise. AAP believes that like clean politics, clean business is also
needed for the development of the country. Competitive capitalism will be
encouraged but crony capitalism will have no place in the scheme of things of
the AAP government. The scarce resources of the nation belong to all the people
of the country including the vagabonds on our streets. This is the common
property of all. This will not be given to the crony corporate industrialists
at throw away prices. They will have to give due price to the government and
this amount will be utilized for the welfare of the poor of this country.
Labour
Labour will have the right to form
unions, put forward their rights, protest and strike work. But one industry
will have a single union which will include all the workers of the factory. The
union leaders will be democratically elected from among the workers of the
factory. No outside politician will be allowed to head the labour union in a
factory. In government service also one
union will be allowed for one class of employees. Unions of government officers
affiliated to any political party will be banned. Officers paid from government
treasury will not be allowed to have any open allegiance to any political party
except voting right. Government officers found working for any political party
overtly or covertly will be dismissed from service after enquiry by competent
authority.
Civil
Supplies
Civil Supplies department will be
strengthened and corruption and mismanagement in civil supplies will be
prevented. Those wholesale and retail ration dealers who divert ration supplies
clandestinely to open market with the connivance of the civil supplies officers
will be prosecuted and jailed. Such officials will be dismissed and prosecuted
immediately.
Women and
Children Welfare Schemes
Education and welfare of women is
the keystone to success of any society. So utmost care will be given to the
education and strengthening of women. Their political participation will be
enhanced and one-third of all political posts including those of ministers will
be reserved for women. Prevention of offences and crime against women and
children will be the top priority of the government. The age for juvenile
justice for crime of rape and molestation of women and children will be lowered
to 16 years from present 18 years.
Reservation
Policy
Reservation will be continued in
education and employment for scheduled castes and tribes. For backward
communities there will be a financial ceiling limit also. Reservation for
employment will be only in the entry cadre of a government department, but
there will be no reservation for further promotions.
Secularism
Aam Aadmi Party will be a strict
secular party. Secular means giving no favour or help to any religion. Religion
is the private affair of the citizens and religious activities must strictly be
restricted within the four walls of places of worship. No religion will be
allowed to meddle in the affairs of the state. State and religion will have no
relation as far as public policies of government are decided. During election
time no AAP candidate will meet any Christian Bishops, Muslim Moulavis, Hindu
Sanayasins, caste leaders of NSS, SNDP etc. etc. to gather votes of voters
belonging to their religions and castes. People will have individual political
opinion and these caste and religious leaders are not the persons controlling
the political opinion of the followers of the respective religions and castes.
AAP seeks the votes of individuals based on their political belief, conviction
and conscience.
The ownership of all temples,
churches and mosques will be vested on the members of those religious
establishments. The administration of the temples, churches and mosques will be
under the control of trustees elected by the members of those institutions.
There will be a tribunal or ombudsman to look into the administration of these
institutions and any complaints of corruption of trustees can be filed before
this Tribunal which will look into the charges in detail and if trustees are
found to have committed fraud, they will be punished with imprisonment. The
Poojaris, Priests and Mollas will be only spiritual leaders and they will have
no control over the administration of properties of religious institutions and
places of worship.
Hartals
Political parties are free to declare hartal for any cause.
But complying with the request of hartal will be voluntary. Those who want to
close their shops can do so. Those who want to open their shops will also have
freedom to do so. Nobody can compel to close shops in the name of hartals.
Vehicles can ply if the owners choose so, they can also go off the road if they
want to participate in the hartal. Any political leaders found involved in
violent activities during a hartal will
be taken into custody and jailed. They will have to strictly compensate for any
damages or losses occurred due to the hartal declared by them. Strict legal
action will be taken against any political leader promoting violent hartals.
Once it is seen that a political party has engaged in violence during a hartal
declared by that party, all that party’s leaders will be taken under preventive
detention during all the future hartals declared by that party.
AAP
is pledged to bring in a welfare state that will take all steps to improve the
life of each and every citizen of the state.
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