Karnataka govt. to organise state-wide mass awareness programme on Constitution
Bengaluru: Karnataka government on Thursday said it is organising a statewide ” Constitution Awareness Jatha” (mass awareness) from January 26 to February 23, to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution.
A Constitution Workshop and Expo will also be organised on February 24 and 25 morning, and a mega Constitution Awareness Convention on February 25 evening, it said.
The Social welfare department is organising the events in collaboration with various other departments, state PSUs and NGOs and already Rs 18 crore has been approved for the purpose and each district has been released Rs 25 lakh, the government said in a release. ”As we enter the 75th year of adoption of the Constitution, it is a good milestone to look at how the Constitution has performed and what are the challenges that lie ahead. Also, the structure of the Indian Constitution is being debated and its embedded values appear to be under threat due to misconceptions or vested interests. Therefore, saving and preserving the Indian Constitution which was laboriously constructed is the biggest challenge of the present times,” it said. Therefore, the Government has taken a decision to create mass awareness to reaffirm the power of the Indian constitution through this “constitution and Unity of India” programme, it added.
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The Constitution Awareness Jatha would be organised in all the 31 districts. The jatha will have a LED mobile van that will play the multimedia on the essence of Constitution, how it has been prepared and adopted.
The LED van will be followed by 4-5 more tableaus which depict contents related to the Constitution and other connected things specific to the districts, it said, adding, there will be wide participation from the government, private and civil society.
There could be cycle rallies, it further said, adding that the district administrations have been given the freedom to design and conduct it.
The jatha will travel through the districts and reach every gram panchayat, thus involving the elected members at the grass roots. It would take 27 days to cover the district. In bigger districts more than one tableaus are planned by the district administration.
The MLA/MLC and MPs have been requested to participate in the Jatha in their respective jurisdictions. During the Jatha, the officials will also verify those citizens who are not covered in the state government’s guarantee programmes and who could be otherwise eligible, it said.
The Jatha will have local halts, where cultural troupes will perform and there will be participation from the college students, workers, farmers and Self Help Groups (SHGs). There will also be on the spot competitions on the Constitutions. The jatha will be flagged off by the District Incharge Ministers on January 26, and it would be just after the hoisting of the national flag, the release said, adding, the details of the jatha and the route maps will be available in the website created especially for this purpose. The second part of the programme is a Workshop and Expo, intellectual discourse and discussion by experts on many facets of the Constitution. It will be done at Palace grounds in Bengaluru on February 24 and 25. Concurrently there will be an expo on Constitutional values and science and Technology by KREIS (Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society) and other organisations. This intellectual discourse will be on topics like the concept of equality, liberty, secularism and social justice. The participants would be from the state, the country and few from outside India too. At the end of the round table, a declaration will be drafted based on the discussions. This is jointly organised and curated by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), and Karnataka Law University. These institutions would be collaborating with other institutions and NGOs in organising the round table. The third part is a Mega convention on Constitution awareness on February 25 at the Palace grounds where the public from all walks of life will gather. The expected gathering would be around a lakh and from all over the state, the government said, adding, this will be the valediction programme of the entire event and will be attended by many intellectuals and public representatives from across the country.
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MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for 6 yrs: Digvijaya Singh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for six years, as he accused the Election Commission of being "biased", and also questioned the need for conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Participating in the discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, Singh sought removal of the ceiling on electoral expenses to ensure transparency in the election process, and alleged "vote chori (theft)" in states like Karnataka, Haryana, and Maharashtra.
He also claimed that Rahul Gandhi had submitted proof in this regard, but the Election Commission never responded.
He alleged bias by the Election Commission and wondered whether citizenship was being ascertained or a new voter list was being prepared, claiming that matriculation certificates were being demanded from individuals during the SIR exercise.
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"SIR kaha se aa gaya? Humse citizenship ke question poochhey ja rahe hain (where did SIR come from? We are being questioned regarding citizenship)... matriculation certificate is being demanded from voters... whether citizenship is being ascertained or a voter list is being prepared?" Singh questioned during his remarks.
The senior Congress leader said, "When the election commission carries out summary revision four times a year, then what is the need of SIR?"
He suggested that the delimitation exercise should not be based on population and instead on the current seat dynamics in place in the North and South India.
"(Delimitation)... jansankhya ke aadhar par nahin hona chahiye. maujooda anupaat jo dakshin aur uttar bharat ki seats hai uss par hi hona chahiye," Singh said.
Singh claimed that multiple letters were written to the Election Commission and INDIA bloc members had sought time from the body but it was never granted.
He and Home Minister Amit Shah,
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wanting to implement a "fascist dictatorship" by appointing people following a particular ideology on constitutional positions.
He claimed that Shah was never associated with the RSS, a charge debunked by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal.
"Rahul Gandhi ne apne bhashan mein kaha tha is desh mein 2014 ke baad jitne bhi samvidhanik sansthaayein hain unpar ek nishchit vichardhaara ke logon ko bithaya ja raha hai, woh yogya ho ya ayogya ho, aur unke maadhyam se, mera yeh aarop hai, fascist dictatorship laagu karna chahtey hain Narendra Modi ji (Rahul Gandhi in his speeches has said that since 2014 people from a particular ideology, whether qualified or not, are being placed in constitutional posts... my allegation is that Modi ji is trying to impose fascist dictatorship in the country," Singh said.
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Speaking on the issue of illegal immigration, Samik Bhattacharya (BJP) quoted former PM Manmohan Singh's speech on September 30, 2005, claiming that Singh had stated that "India is opposed to all illegal immigration into the country be it from Bangladesh or elsewhere. The illegal immigration should not be encouraged."
He asserted that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority, and the SIR is underway and it needs to be accepted.
He also raised the issue of political violence and demographic imbalance/changes in West Bengal.
Sandeep Kumar Pathak of the Aam Aadmi Party raised the issue of exorbitant electoral expenses and the lack of level-playing field to contest polls by common citizens for this reason. He also suggested proper verification of the voter list.
