Dear Shri Rahul Gandhi
I am angry and this is a serious letter. So I am not going to throw cheap banters at you. I have also consciously decided to not throw any personal insult at you. I will go ahead with this letter with an assumption that this country has to put up with you till some real leader is allowed to surface on the national scene from your party.
Last few days have been tough. The National Herald Case seems to be bothering you a tad too much and you have been staging a walkout from the Parliament with a mind-bending consistency. The bookies can now shift their focus from cricket and instead bet on the question of ‘Who will lead the walk-out today?’ Didn’t you do the same thing in the last session? I wonder if your doctor has prescribed you with ‘Daily Walks’ and you confused it with ‘Daily Walk-Outs’! In all probability, I believe you just get bored when drawn to details. I might end up doing exactly that now.
I have a few things to tell you that you might have forgotten to read on that secret-agentish holiday of yours. Please note that this list is not exhaustive and neither are the contents of it. I am just trying to make you understand the gravity of the situation in short. Nevertheless, you will have to overcome your attention deficit issue to wade through the entire list. Two things first –
1. India runs on a written constitution. The constitution has ruled that India has three engines for governance – The Legislative, The Executive, and The Judiciary.
2. These three engines have very clear distinctions of roles. So, you must understand that a bill pending in the Parliament can’t be passed in the court, and this might interest you – the opposite is not possible either. So, a case pending against your name can’t be debated and decided in the Parliament. So I don’t see any reason for you to disrupt the Parliament proceedings. It’s a lawsuit. Be a man. Fight it out in the court if you think that there’s a political motive. You will earn greater respect. Your actions in the Parliament can only be likened to those of crybabies (No, I am not targeting your mother. Subramanian Swamy is handling that very well.).
Now that you might already be smelling the objective of this letter, let’s get down to more serious things. The winter session started on November 26 and is going to end on December 23, 2015. I am writing this on December 14th. There are 19 bills pending that have to be discussed for passage and 14 new bills are to be introduced. I’m not sure if your office has given you a walk-through of the bills list, so let me just take you through some of the most critical ones that can’t wait for the solution of National Herald Case through the Parliament –
1. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control)Bill, 2014
The Bill seeks to prevent and control the spread of HIV and AIDS, prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV and AIDS, provides for informed consent and confidentiality with regard to their treatment, places obligations on establishments to safeguard their rights, and creates mechanisms for redressing their complaints.
Every HIV infected or affected person below the age of 18 years has the right to reside in a shared household and enjoy the facilities of the household. The Bill also prohibits any individual from publishing information or advocating feelings of hatred against HIV positive persons and those living with them.
The Bill requires that no HIV test, medical treatment, or research will be conducted on a person without his informed consent. No person shall be compelled to disclose his HIV status except with his informed consent, and if required by a court order.
An ombudsman shall be appointed by each state government to inquire into complaints related to the violation of the Act and the provision of health care services. The Ombudsman shall submit a report to the state government every six months stating the number and nature of complaints received, the actions taken and orders passed.
Cases relating to HIV positive persons shall be disposed off by the court on a priority basis. In any legal proceeding, if an HIV infected or affected person is a party, the court may pass orders that the proceedings be conducted (a) by suppressing the identity of the person, (b) in camera, and (c) to restrain any person from publishing information that discloses the identity of the applicant. When passing any order with regard to a maintenance application filed by an HIV infected or affected person, the court shall take into account the medical expenses incurred by the applicant.
Interestingly, this bill was floated by the then Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad in 2014. Lest you forget, he belongs to your party.
2. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013
Residential real estate projects, with some exceptions, need to be registered with RERAs. Promoters cannot book or offer these projects for sale without registering them. Real estate agents dealing in these projects also need to register with RERAs.
On registration, the promoter must upload details of the project on the website of the RERA. These include the site and layout plan, and schedule for completion of the real estate project.
70% of the amount collected from buyers for a project must be maintained in a separate bank account and must only be used for construction of that project. The state government can alter this amount to less than 70%.
The Bill establishes state level tribunals called Real Estate Appellate Tribunals. Decisions of RERAs can be appealed in these tribunals.
3. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2014
The Bill seeks to amend the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Act prohibits the commission of offences against members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs) and establishes special courts for the trial of such offences and the rehabilitation of victims.
Forcing an SC or ST individual to vote or not vote for a particular candidate in a manner that is against the law is an offence under the Act. The Bill adds that impeding certain activities related to voting will also be considered an offence. Wrongfully occupying land belonging to SCs or STs is an offence under the Act. The Bill defines ‘wrongful’ in this context, which was not done under the Act.
Assaulting or sexual exploiting an SC or ST woman is an offence under the Act. The Bill adds that: (a) intentionally touching an SC or ST woman in a sexual manner without her consent, or (b) using words, acts or gestures of a sexual nature, or (c) dedicating an SC or ST women as a devadasi to a temple, or any similar practice will also be considered an offence. Consent is defined as a voluntary agreement through verbal or non-verbal communication.
New offences added under the Bill include: (a) garlanding with footwear, (b) compelling to dispose or carry human or animal carcasses, or do manual scavenging, (c) abusing SCs or STs by caste name in public, (d) attempting to promote feelings of ill-will against SCs or STs or disrespecting any deceased person held in high esteem, and (e) imposing or threatening a social or economic boycott.
There are other points to the bill. Please ask Mr. Venkaiah Naidu for a copy.
4. The Mental Health Care Bill, 2013
The Statements of Objects and Reasons to the Bill, state the government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. The Convention requires the laws of the country to align with the Convention. The new Bill was introduced as the existing Act does not adequately protect the rights of persons with mental illness nor promote their access to mental health care.
Rights of persons with mental illness: Every person shall have the right to access mental health care and treatment from services run or funded by the government. The right to access mental health care includes affordable, good quality of and easy access to services. Persons with mental illness also have the right to equality of treatment, protection from inhuman and degrading treatment, free legal services, access to their medical records, and complain regarding deficiencies in provision of mental health care.
Advance Directive: A mentally-ill person shall have the right to make an advance directive that states how he wants to be treated for the illness during a mental health situation and who his nominated representative shall be. The advance directive has to be certified by a medical practitioner or registered with the Mental Health Board. If a mental health professional/ relative/care-giver does not wish to follow the directive while treating the person, he can make an application to the Mental Health Board to review/alter/cancel the advance directive.
5. The Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015
The Act provides a mechanism for receiving and inquiring into public interest disclosures against acts of corruption, willful misuse of power or discretion, or criminal offences by public servants.
The Bill prohibits the reporting of a corruption related disclosure if it falls under any 10 categories of information.
These categories include information related to: (i) economic, scientific interests and the security of India; (ii) Cabinet proceedings, (iii) intellectual property; (iv) that received in a fiduciary capacity, etc.
6. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014
Permits juveniles between the ages of 16-18 years to be tried as adults for heinous offences and provides for institutional care for children in need of protection and care.
Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB) and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) will be constituted in each district. The JJB will conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine whether a juvenile offender is to be sent for rehabilitation or be tried as an adult. The CWC will determine institutional care for children in need of care and protection.
Eligibility of adoptive parents and the procedure for adoption have been included in the Bill.
Penalties for cruelty against a child, offering a narcotic substance to a child, and abduction or selling a child have been prescribed.
7. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2015
Increases the allowance for investment in plants and machinery in micro, small and medium enterprises engaged in manufacture or services.
The limit of investment in plant or machinery for enterprises engaged in the manufacture or production of goods, and the limit of investment in equipment for enterprises engaged in services has been increased.
8. The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014
I will leave the details of this one for you to figure out in your next ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ with Mr. Prime Minister.
I join my hands in humility and I accept that you wield great power over your intellectually challenged MPs but for Chhota Bheem’s sake please wake up to the day. Kindly don’t take this country hostage for your ill-fetched ambitions. I have just two things to conclude this letter with –
1. This is a country, not a game of Mario.
2. The Parliament is there to run the country, not your family. It would serve us better if you keep your dining table worries out of it.
The Tragedy of This Country – The Parliament that is entrusted with the task of running and developing the country passed only 1 out of the planned 12 bills in the monsoon session. That’s an efficiency of 8.33%. Reasons? Shouldn’t be hard for you to guess. You have 9 more days to fall to a new low though.
I am angry, and I am sad because this unfortunate country has to see this all, bear this all without making a sound!
If you have reached till here, I thank you sincerely.
The BookStalkist
bookstalkist.com
14.12.2015
Reference –
http://www.prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/parliament-updates/parliament-session-alert-winter-2015-4061/ (Details of the bills)http://www.prsindia.org/administrator/uploads/general/1439462923~~Plan%20vs%20Performance-Monsoon%202015.pdf(Performance of Monsoon Session)
http://inc.in (for Rahul Gandhi’s photograph)
About Author
Excellent Article. Totally Agree with you and it is disgusting to see the behavior of the politicians. I also suggest you write an open Letter to our PM as the BJP is equally to blame for the situation. If they were serious to pass the bills in the interest of the country, they could have ensured that there are no provocation for these 2 months. I can’t understand why the court case against the congress could not be adjourned to January and the raid against Kejriwal be done the same in Jan. Somehow, I get the feeling that the government wants to keep showing the opposition in bad light with the idea of getting support from the people for the next elections. However, they are better of ignoring them given the solid majority and not give them a handle to provoke them.
Thanks Arun. The open letter to Mr. Prime Minister is due but maybe not for the reasons you have cited. Any party can’t come out to influence Judiciary/CBI. By saying BJP could have avoided such a situation by getting court proceedings adjourned, aren’t we falling for a dangerous trap? The Judges are doing what they must do, the Parliament must fall in line to do what they have been entrusted to do.
It’s the responsibility of government to bring all parties in confidence, and conduct smooth functioning of assembly. BJP should learn and behave, rather than putting the blame on other parties for their failure of governance
Even if what you say is true, I believe the ruling party has taken lead in resolving the crisis. PM’s meeting with Rahul and Sonia, Sumitra Mahajan’s informal hangout with all parties, and recently Vice President’s All Party Meet – there are many steps. However, if 2 people want to fight out their court cases inside the Parliament, nobody can help the situation.
Nicely written article. Danny sure Raga would not understand nor the intellectuals around him
Thank you Sampath. I’m glad people are going through this article. Even if Mr. Gandhi doesn’t read/comprehend the contents, I had another purpose i.e. to get our focus on things that matter. When the country debates about every single insignificant thing, it saddens me to see that nobody debates these bills in public domain.
A sensible article. I wish Rahul Gandhi reads it and ponders over it. The manner in which he is going about and what the ordinary people speak about him (I wish he learns about it), he will soon be marginalised and become irrelevant. Ordinary people who are politically aware but not politically involved speak poorly about him.
I got a joke on WhatsApp the other day which sums up all about Rahul Gandhi:
Chennai has gone through a natural disaster in the last few days and is getting back to normal. Now a new disaster is going to hit Chennai – Rahul. Gandhi is coming to Chennai!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish him well. I hope he adopts a positive and productive approach in Parliament and national politics in his own interest.
Thanks a lot Sir. People shout only when they have nothing ‘audible’ to speak about. I am convinced that the opposition is just hiding its insecurities behind all this ruckus. At what cost, and till what extent are to be seen by this country.
It is indeed painful to see people having no sense of democracy ‘misrepresenting’ us in the Parliament. I think an average Indian knows the meaning the democracy better than them.
Superb article … actually its the government who should cry Vendetta politics from Congress… God forbid the day when we might have to see Rahul Gandhi in a important position in India … What has he done for the country ? what post has he held in his life apart from running his family business ….
Thanks Rajiv. The mainstream discourse is led by a segment of media that doesn’t want to go into details. As citizens, we are taken for a ride as a result.
jabardast !!
Thank you Shashi. I hope this reaches the right ears.