The government does not appreciate independent assessment of its policies.
Earlier this month, three dozen voluntary organisations in Karnataka collectively prepared a manifesto for the political parties contesting the assembly elections in the state. This “Civil Society Forum” included groups working for the rights of Dalits, women, and slum dwellers, groups active in the fields of education, health and sanitation, and groups pressing for political decentralisation through the fuller application of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Indian Constitution.
Their manifesto, running into 20 pages, was printed in both Kannada and English. It covered a wide array of issues, reflecting the varied priorities of the participating groups as well as the different challenges confronting the people of the state. The Civil Society Forum asked “all political parties” to include these demands in their own manifestos and, further, requested those elected to the assembly to take decisions in favour of them.
Source: Scroll.in
