Voting Thoughtfully

In India it is very common to see the sites of people contesting polls, going door to door and asking people to vote for them with folded hands. Money is spent like water during this time. Various kinds of gifts are given to voters from poorer sections of the society. It can be a Rs 100 or a Rs 500 note, a bottle of liquor, a saree or a box of biriyani. The election commission has a fixed amount that each contestant can spend in a particular constituency, but invariably this amount is crossed by the contestants many times over in an effort to gain power. 

Now once a particular contestant wins normally people don't get to see him for the next four and half years. The reason his target is achieved now he/she will recover the investments that he made during the elections through various dubious means. While a MP or a MLA is elected to represent his own constituency in the Parliament or Assembly. They hardly bother about doing any development work in their constituency. Whatever development work that is being done will invariably have some financial motive associated with it like getting a percentage from the project. 

The big problem is people vote on the basis of the promises and gifts given by the contestants rather than judging him/her on the basis of his character and past work. Again in India there is no Right to Recall any MP or MLA so the people have to suffer for the next 5 years after electing the candidate. 

So this makes it clear that it is important that people vote on the basis of character and past works of a candidate. The candidate must be honest and a man/woman of integrity. Another point is in case a wrong candidate is chosen by the people they must have the power to recall him/her, this is the basis of Right to Recall. 

Before the formation of Aam Aadmi Party. The major demands of India Against Corruption were :

1. Janlokpal
2. Right to Reject.
3. Right to Recall.

While Aam Aadmi Party has been able to give an honest alternative to Delhi. The Delhi Janlokpal bill is yet to be passed. The draft is probably sent to the Centre for approval. 

The Right to Reject and the Right to Recall bill has to be passed by the central government. However the kind of government that we have in the centre, it is very unlikely that the bills are going to be passed in the next four years. We must remember that Modi has come to power after spending money in advertisements like flowing water. Even an idiot will tell you that the amount of money that was spent should have surpassed the limits set by the Election Commission many times over. So its obvious his governments intentions now is get the most advantage of being in power. 

The state government of Delhi came to power on the basis of a transparent funding system and at a small budget of about Rs 20 cr, well inside the limits set by the election commission. The awareness spread by the AAP volunteer during Delhi state elections resulted in people accepting the gifts from other parties, but the ended up voting for AAP, since they now knew that other parties will simply rob them. 

The state of Delhi is now reaping in the advantage of voting for a honest party, AAP is working well despite of the hurdles set by the Centre through the Lieutenet Governer of Delhi. 

AAP'S Delhi Dialogue for Youth

AAP unveils its agenda for the youth & students of Delhi

·         Student loan for college going students will be easy and hassle free

·         20 new colleges will be opened in outer Delhi

·         55,000 job vacancies in Delhi government, boards and corporations to be immediately filled-up

·         Degree, Income, WiFi. Aam Aadmi Party Laayi

·         Delhi will be a drug-free national capital

Delhi Dialogue launched its first round of public meetings on Saturday afternoon (November 15 2014), at the historic Jantar Mantar, where the youth of Delhi were brimming with ideas and confidence for the conference followed by an evening of musical concert.  

This conference focused on issues related to youth, which were broadly divided into sectors/focus areas such as jobs, employment, skills, sports, culture, art and technology.

Over the past two weeks, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi Dialogue team led by Ashish Khetan, Meera Sanyal and Adarsh Shastri met with stakeholders on these issues ranging from bureaucrats, government employees and elected representatives, businesses, non-profits, journalists and other interesting persons with expertise.

They also engaged with several student groups and leadership organizations, along with youth brigades. Based on these roundtables, the AAP has developed a 5-point agenda plan that was unveiled for the youth at this event. However, this list is not set in stone and is open to amendments, revision and discussion. 

At the event, elaborate talks on the current status and future of various issues mentioned above were delivered by party thought leaders including Yogendra Yadav, Meera Sanyal, Adarsh Shastri and independent idealogues like Shri Atul Bhatnagar, COO of the National Skill Development Corporation and Shri Mahesh Murthy, a renowned venture capitalist. 

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal concluded the first half of the programme by laying down the slogan for the youth – “Degree, Income, WiFi. Aam Aadmi Party Laayi”.

The following big agenda items were announced: 

1.   Higher Education Guarantee Scheme: Students passing out from Delhi schools who wish to pursue any diploma or degree course after class 12, should be given a loan by banks with only one criteria, the securing of admission. The loan should cover their tuition fees as well as the cost of the stay. The loan repayment should have a moratorium for the period of education and one year thereafter. No student will be rejected a loan.

2.   AAP will open 20 new Delhi colleges on the outskirts of Delhi by creating partnerships with our local villages.

According to the National Sample Survey and various other estimates, there are about 3-5 lakh unemployed people in Delhi. However, this estimate is far too low considering the many manifestations of disguised unemployment and underemployment. To make an attempt to crack this issue: 

1.   AAP will fill 55,000 immediate vacancies in the Delhi government and the autonomous bodies of GNCT Delhi.

2.  AAP will promote vocational education and skill-development of Delhi's youth in schools and colleges, to bridge the real skill-gap in Delhi. We will create the Delhi Skill Mission that will enable the skilling of 1 lakh/year for the first two years, ramped up to 5 lakh/year for the next three years of an AAP government.

3.   AAP will create an ecosystem to empower private industry to create more jobs and grow at a faster trajectory than the current projections for Delhi job numbers.

4.   The government will help transform invention to innovation by setting up technological incubators in universities and colleges.

5.  AAP will create innovative and private startup accelarators to provide support to entrepreneurs. We will start with providing 3 million square feet as part of the pilot test project.

6.  We will create sports facilities, infrastructure and effective human resource management for athletes, especially from Delhi’s rural and urban villages.

7.  We will utilize and open up Delhi’s sports stadiums and complexes to its youth and also open government school fields and facilities to every child to play.

8.  We will make Delhi a drug-free city

9.  We will make Delhi a wifi-enabled city.

However, the evening did not fade away into oblivion with some expert speeches and political agenda. A wonderful evening of entertainment and comedy was created by Bhagwant Mann, Raghu Ram along with Jasleen, Swaratma and Vimlendu Jha.

http://aamaadmiparty.org/delhi-dialogue-launched-by-unveiling-the-agenda-for-youth-students-of-delhi

Kejriwal Fir Se

So after keeping Delhi in limbo for months the Lieutenet Governor was forced to announce the dissolution of the Delhi assembly(since in the next hearing the court may have ordered the dissolution of the assembly) . Last year in February when the Delhi Janlokpal bill was tabled int he Assembly, BJP and Congress joined hands to stop the bill from getting passed. Arvind Kejriwal had promised earlier that Janlokpal Bill would be passed if AAP came to power and incase they were unable to pass the bill, then all the MLA's of AAP will resign together . What AAP said, AAP did Arvind Kejriwal and all the other 26 MPs resigned .

        In Delhi Assembly elections held last year although the single largest party was BJP with 32 seats the first timers Aam Aadmi Party had won 28 seats . The Congress was left with mere 8 seats. The Congress by itself went to LG and announced unconditional support to AAP if it forms the government. So AAP did a public referendum and most people were in favour of AAP forming a government with Congress's support.

       The tenure of AAP in Delhi was rather short but it was full of action . In the first few days the electricity rates were halved ,then upto 20000 lts of water was made free per household per month. A call center was started where people could report  if any govt official asked for bribe. Some govt officials were removed when they were found asking for bribes. In fact a TV channel did a sting operation on which some officials some of them asked for bribes . Manish Sisodiya suspended them right then and there.

      The Sheila Dixit government of Delhi swindled all the money that was allocated for building Rain Baseras for the homeless especially in the biting Delhi cold. When AAP came to power it was  December and in December - January the night temperatures of Delhi can be as low as 4 or 5 degree celcius. The AAP govt acted briskly immediately arranged for Porta Cabinets and some old unused buses  were used as night shelters for the the homeless.

      The fact that the electricity companies were benefiting from tariffs set by the Sheila government can be gauged by the fact that when it was announced that an audit  would be done of the power companies by the CAG, the power companies moved to court to stop the audit. When they failed in high court they moved to supreme court. This shows that there is something wrong and Kejriwal is right when he alleges that the power companies have been benefited by the Sheila Government and they were hands in gloves.

      There were reports from friends living in Delhi that the roadside stall owners actually lowered the rate of their services during AAP's tenure, when asked for reason the person said that because of AAP's government the Delhi Police was scared to take bribes and this lead to savings. He decided to pass  it on to the consumers which resulted in him getting more customers. A friend reported that a rickshawalla actually charged less than what he usually charged the reason he gave was because of the AAP government he no longer has to pay the Rs 5000 hafta to police anymore.

     A few months ago e-rickshaws was banned by Delhi High Court , this e- rickshaws cannot be made legal till necessary amendment are made in the Motor Vehicles Act. In Delhi over 100,000 people had invested in e-rickshaws. They are from poor families and the livelihoods of their families depend on this. However the government did not show any urgency in amending the motor vehicles act. The result is the e-rickshaw drivers are not able to earn their livelihood. The government is elected by people so that it works for it and improves their standard of life . Unfortunately in India the ignorance of masses have resulted in corrupt and criminal people coming to power. This people rob the nation and leave the masses in poverty.

     The nation needs to wake up, Delhi needs to wake and don't let this opportunity go. If Delhiites want to live in a corruption free environment . If the people of Delhi wants a government that is committed to work for their well being. If the people of Delhi want their daughters and sisters  to be safe in the city and if they want an excellent future of their Kids then Delhi must vote for #AAP . Since Modi's BJP govt has continued the loot of the nation, it promised acche din but is doing exactly the opposite.

Enjoy this song sung by Vishal Dadlani

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDJIbLEoIGs