Fida reminds the J&K Government that people's right to know is paramount in a democratic society
(Mr. Fida Iqbal, 49, was born in Sopore. He attended the D.A.V. School in Nayadyaar, Rainawari, and the Government Higher Secondary School in Sopore. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Agriculture/Floriculture and Landscaping from Chowdhry Chottu Ram College at Muzaffarabad Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Iqbal works with the Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Department as a landscape architect. He enjoys kitchen gardening, reading writing, and is very a passionate and dedicated golf player.)
The Pitfalls of Democracy
In almost all parts of the subcontinent so far democracy is in
evolutionary phase, particularly democracy in our state is relatively in its
infancy. Gradual belittling of State Accountability Commission to the extent of
its virtual extinction has exposed emerging democracy in Kashmir to vagaries of
exploitation.
Accordingly the recent curtailment in powers of the State
Information Commission and veiled confrontation between Chief Information
Commissioner and the government does not auger well for people’s rule (read
Democracy), we made a choice in 1947 after long drawn struggle for
empowerment.
During the last several years the whole country and consequently the Jammu and Kashmir as well experienced many radical changes by enacting several laws and acts to explore vistas of accountability.
During the last several years the whole country and consequently the Jammu and Kashmir as well experienced many radical changes by enacting several laws and acts to explore vistas of accountability.
Establishment of
State Accountability Commission in 2002 and enacting Right to Information Act
(RTI Act) in 2009 in line with central RTI Act 2005 opened an entirely new and
vast chapter of transparency in otherwise much flawed democratic system in
J&K. With the introduction of RTI Act and free flow of information,
corruption, the monstrous face of our society felt tremors of extinction. The
effective penetration of these two revolutionary laws made many crooks in the
administration and their masters in political hierarchy to feel the heat of
answerability. Common man’s access to every page and note of administrative
records send shivers through the much stressed nerves of exploiters and bands of
illegitimate beneficiaries. Thus, scheming plots to undermine these
revolutionary steps got rolling in the corridors of corruption and castles of
nepotism. A modus operandi was devised to influence the pioneers of these laws
with a logic that over-emancipation of people will encroach upon, ‘their own’
authority and future prospects of their success and superiority. These
machinating motivations initially deflated authority of State Accountability
Commission rendering it almost hollow. For last several years this institution
of accountability is either headless or lacks quorum. After the untimely death
of its first chairman Justice (Retired) R.P.Sethi the commission remained
headless for years. After much reluctance and long drawn skewed selection
procedure the commission was reactivated, but with revised and curtailed
authorization to try the graft cases of public functionaries only (by enacting,
Act. No.II of 2011).
Interestingly the recent stand of the government about
powers of suo motto actions by the commission under regulation-9 being in
conflict with the provisions of the Act and casting doubts about the status of
the commission while invoking provisions under section-24 of the SAC Act clearly
relate a different story about the intentions of the administration vis-à-vis
unrestricted anti corruption powers of SAC. The fate of the State Vigilance
Commission after its constitution in 2011 is an open story of indifference
towards accountability.
In continuation to its hide and seek policy and the
influence of unscrupulous elements government used its overriding powers to
curtail the powers of the Information Commission with a plea that the present
rules are not in compliance with the RTI Act 2009 and central Act of 2005 and
were necessitated to be changed to remove certain anomalies. And thus on August
30, 2012 axe fell on RTI Act by notifying new RTI Rules through SRO 279 to
replace RTI Rules of 2010 wherein the RTI Act has been curtailed to the extent
of ‘information for the sake of information’ without any punitive provisions in
case of any noncompliance by the information providing agency. With such
sweeping changes in the Act the commission has been left more or less toothless.
No doubt government in its capacity has absolute and overriding powers to change
or cancel any of its earlier rules, Acts or laws, but before making any such
sweeping changes with wider implication on the health of democracy and the
interests of the common man government should take every stakeholder on board.
In genuine democracy every step towards empowerment has to be made with honesty,
sincerity and desirable levels of foresightedness. An iota of doubt or hypocrisy
will ruin the whole process of equality as envisaged by our forefathers.
People’s right to know about system and leaders of their government is paramount
and any overt or covert move to scuttle this right will always prove
counterproductive and will spoil the spirit of democracy.
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