COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Samata manifesto wants foreign-borns kept off high office

The Samata Party, in its manifesto, has called for an amendment to the Constitution to prevent those who are not natural-born citizens from occupying the post of the President, the vice-president and the prime minister.

The party manifesto for the Lok Sabha election has said in a globalised world economy, multinationals and powerful nations have been making a bid not only to capture the markets of the Third World but also acquire political clout in these countries.

It is not beyond them to hatch long-term plans to plant foreigners who can be catapulted to high political office, the manifesto observed.

Asked to elaborate if the manifesto's reference to citizenship laws was aimed at a particular person, party president George Fernandes, who released the manifesto, denied the suggestion. He said as early as last June he had introduced a bill in Parliament to this effect.

Fernandes claimed that most civilised nations have such citizenship laws and constitutional provisions to prevent naturalised citizens from occupying high political office.

The Samata Party leader said India was not for grabs for anybody to walk in (and capture political power).

Fernandes said the party was opposed to the current economic reforms launched by the Congress and continued by the two successive goverments propped up by the Congress. He said his party was committed to the stand that if they had any role in running the government after the election, some multinationals might be asked to pack off.

"'We stand for a decentralised economy which promises generation of additional employment and taking up of various poverty alleviation programmes."

Fernandes said, in his party's opinion, the poverty alleviation programmes could start with the constitutional amendment making the right to work a fundamental one. Till then all the poverty alleviation programmes would remain incomplete, he said.

The Samata Party is of the opinion that the Lok Sabha should have a fixed five year term. He said this was already the provision because the voters are required to elect a House for five years.

He said in several countries steps are taken to give shape to this provision. He said the fall of a government or a coalition government should not mean that the House be dissolved and the voters are again asked to elect a new House.

According to the manifesto, the party will propose a constitutional amendment to make the five-year life of the Lok Sabha an irrevocable feature. The amendment will also provide for a confidence vote to elect a new leader in the Lok Sabha to form a government before the President dissolves the House. It will also have a provision that the prime minister shall be elected only from among the elected members of the House.

The party wants to make the model code of conduct mandatory so that the parties and the officials violating it can be punished according to law. The Samata Party is also for the repeal of the present anti-defection law and in its place favoured a new law to place restriction on members leaving their parties to secure political office in government or other pecuniary benefits. State funding of elections as one of the measures aimed at poll reforms in the country also forms part of the manifesto.

The Samata Party also favours a ceiling on the size of a cabinet. In case of bicameral Houses, it wants a ceiling of ten per cent of the total membership of both the Houses and 15 per cent in the case of unicameral Houses.

On the right to information and transparency, the party says individuals and organisations should have the right to information and accountability concerning developmental programmes, budgetary allocations and financial audit from elected bodies as well as the administration. A consensus on the nature of right to information will be arrived at between the Press Council, voluntary organisations concerned and the government for presentation before Parliament for legislation.

On the state of the press and media in the country, the party is of the opinion that in spite of a large number of independent professional journalists, the mass media in the country is no way free and independent to play its due role in a developing country. The party has opposed the entry of the foreign print media. The party said the Press Council Act would be amended to bring within its purview the electronic media, and to rename the press council as the media council.

On the issue of corruption, the Samata Party said it is unequivocally committed to the exposure and eradication of corruption at all levels. The party believes eradication of corruption is the unshakeable prerequisite for good governance and speedy development. It is opposed to the money-laundering schemes such as the VDIS which exonerates the ''cheats'' and marginalises the honest, putting a premium on generation of black money.

On the Ayodhya issue, the Samata Party preferred to wait for the court verdict. Any suggestion that Ayodhya can be made a precedent at other places like Mathura and Kashi has to be unequivocally rejected and deplored, it says. The political leadership should encourage the two communities involved to find an amicable solution to all outstanding issues in a manner acceptable to all and in keeping with the dignity and self-respect of each community, it says.

Tell us what you think of this report