By Venkatesh Nayak* According to a recent news report published by a prominent national daily , some newly elected MLAs in West Bengal were being required by their leaders to sign an oath of allegiance to their political party. Whether this measure has been authorised by the party’s apex leadership or is more of a localised show of fealty to the leadership remains to be proved. However, two RTI interventions made recently, with the Secretariats of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha shows that MPs never cast their vote in Parliament against the “whip” or the diktat of their respective political parties since May 2009 (until March 2016). The four RTI applications and responses received are attached. Freedom of action in Parliament Article 105(2) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and action for every MP on the floor of the Houses of Parliament. No MP can be sued in a court of law for anything said or done on the floor of the House when Parliament is in session. This provisi...

By Rajiv Shah A recent study on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is being used for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship programme, Swacch Bharat Mission (SBM) has revealed that, despite “a vast body of research” showing that individual attitudes are the “key reasons for high open defecation rates” in India, “only 20% of companies reported integrating behaviour change into their programmes.

By Our Representative Is the Gujarat government evading a Supreme Court order of 2014 on payment of death compensation to as many as 152 manhole workers who died due to asphyxiation since 1993? It would seem so, if a recent note by Gujarat-based non-government organization (NGO), Janvikas, is any guide.

By Jitendra Rathod* Manual scavenging is inhumane practice of manually removing/ handling/ cleaning human excreta and cleaning drainage without providing any safety measures to sweepers. To eradicate this inhumane practice, Parliament has enacted the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 and the Act came into force on 6th December, 2013 across in India. Meanwhile, the honorable Supreme Court of India has given landmark judgment on 27th March 2014 in this regard. The court has directed the all state governments that: Identify the families of all persons who have died in sewerage work (manholes, septic tanks) since 1993 and award compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs for each such death to the family members depending on them. Sewerage deaths- entering sewer line without safety gears should be made a crime even in emergency situations. For such death, compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs should be given to the family of the deceased. All the state governments a...

By Our Representative With Asiatic lions killing, in all, five persons outside the Gir National Park and Sanctuary area, the demand to translocate the big cat outside Gujarat is beginning to gain momentum. Veteran environmentalist Ravi Chellam, a top lions expert, has already fired the salvo saying this is an “urgent and necessary issue.”

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Delhi High Court, in a recent judgement has upheld an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) directing the Legislative Department, Government of India to upload on the official website all laws enacted by Parliament as amended from time to time. It has also upheld the CIC’s direction to the Government to examine that the functionality of the official email addresses of officers of the Department. Background to the RTI intervention The Respondent in the case decided by the Delhi High Court was a law student at the National Law School of India, University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. As he could not find the complete version of a law passed by Parliament with all the latest amendments online, he submitted an RTI application to the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the Legislative Department. The email bounced back. He does not appear to have received adequate redress from the First Appellate Authority. So he approached the CIC. Disposing of the cas...

By Rajiv Shah A new World Bank study, released ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing two years in office, has said that the India’s national poverty rates fell much more sharply between 2005 and 2012, when the UPA government ruled the country, compared the decade between 1994 and 2005.

By Our Representative Referring to hardline Narendra Modi supporter Subramaniam Swamy’s recent attacks on Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, the top British daily, “The Financial Times (FT)” (May 29), has warned, “The criticism by a prominent lawmaker to whom the BJP gave a parliamentary seat only last month, has worried investors”.

By Our Representative More than 230 NGOs have called on members of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to reform the practice of the Committee of NGOs that prevents certain human rights organisations, including the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), from associating freely with the United Nations (UN).

Amit Kataria By Our Representative In a surprise move, district collector, Bastar, Amit Kataria, has posted on his Facebook page a “complaint” in the name of unidentified local villagers, demanding that FIR be lodged against an independent fact-finding team, which visited to inquire into allegations of intimidation, murder, rape and abduction (click HERE ).

By Ashok Shrimali* People of the area, close to the spot where the Madhya Pradesh government is seeking to implement a high-profile Rs 20,520 crore diamond mining project, are in distress. Facing eviction under the pretext of "saving" the world’s most beautiful wild beasts and nearly 1,000 hectares of pristine forest, people of dozen-odd villagers have complained that, despite drought conditions, they are not being provided any relief.

Rana Ayyub By Our Representative A book by a well-known investigative journalist has claimed that a top Gujarat bureaucrat had told her during a sting operation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Gujarat chief minister, had made the “decision” of bringing 58 dead bodies, charred to death in the S-6 Sabarmati Express coach, from Godhra to Ahmedabad on February 27, 2002, triggering the riots in which at least 1,000 people died.

By Our Representative At a time when the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 – popularly anti-atrocities Act – is winning high accolades from Dalit rights activists across India, one of the world’s top advocacy groups, Human Rights Watch (HRW), has criticized it for using “vague and over broad language, expanding restrictions on speech.”

A demonstration seeking respect to Hinduism in US By Our Representative Taking strong exception to the activists’ and academics’ campaign in California, US, which led the local education officials to agree to include caste system as part of ancient Indian, especially Hindu , civilization in the sixth and seventh grade textbooks (click HERE ), a senior official of the Hindu American Hindu (HAF) has claimed that “hierarchical” caste system was never part of ancient Hindu scriptures.

By Martin Macwan* Praveen Rashtrapal is no more. A short political career of his life as a member of both the upper and lower house of the Parliament was remarkable. The media has not taken much notice of him on the occasion of his demise. Every person in public life has some controversy and Praveenbhai had them too when he confronted sitting Judge of the Gujarat High Court, Justice Pardiwala for his observations on the ‘Reservation’ as also Hardik Patel on ‘Reservation’ for Patidars by suggesting ‘inter-caste marriages’ between Patidar and Dalits as a floor test for equality. Personally I have different views on both the matters. However, my friendship with Praveen Rashtrapal has gone a long way and I have always admired him for his fearlessness and uprightness. During the UN world conference against Racism, even though when the National Congress Party to which be belonged to, was against the inclusion of ‘Caste’ on the final agenda of the UN conference, Praveen Rashtrapal stood in th...

By Our Representative Reproduced below is a rejoinder by Vedanta Resources to www.counterview.net story, published on May 21, 2016 (click HERE ) regarding the alleged outrage by a section of the writers against the top multinational corporation's (MNC's) sponsorship of the Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF) in London:

By Our Representative A recent fact-finding visit by a Left-wing delegation to the worst Naxalite-infected areas of Bastar division in Chhattisgarh has found that there has been large-scale arrest of villagers, with the law being allegedly used by the cops “as an instrument of torture rather than of justice or peace-keeping”.

By Fr Cedric Prakash sj* The World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), May 23rd & 24th 2016, in Istanbul, Turkey is finally underway! The two-day event convened by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is focused around his call that humanity-people’s safety, dignity and the right to thrive-be placed at the heart of global decision-making. Three major goals have been envisaged for the Summit: a) to re-inspire and reinvigorate a commitment to humanity and to the universality of humanitarian principles b) to initiate a set of concrete actions and commitments aimed at enabling countries and communities to better prepare for and respond to crises, and be resilient to shocks c) to share best practices which can help save lives around the world, put affected people at the centre of humanitarian action, and alleviate suffering In order to deliver for humanity, stakeholders must act immediately on five core responsibilities: i. to prevent and end conflict ii. to respect rules of war iii. to leave no...

A demonstration for keeping caste out of curriculum By Our Representative If in India the ruling BJP and the Hindutva brigade may have succeeded in inserting in their saffron agenda in textbooks, in far off California, they have suffered a major setback. "The New York Times" reports , the American Hindu Foundation, known to be a protagonist of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has failed to convince California's education officials that caste system is alien to Indian history and culture.

Poster calls for boycotting festival By Our Representative The top British metals and mining company Vedanta Resources-sponsored Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) began on Saturday in London following a growing number of writers and activist groups showing their displeasure with the sponsorship, calling for a boycott of the high-profile event. While an open letter , signed by over 100 writers, called upon participating writer to keep away from the festival, questions were being raised about whose ‘freedom of speech’ was being prioritised over others, and about the legitimacy and relevance of the festival itself.

By Our Representative A survey of four countries – United Kingdom, Thailand, Brazil and India – has found that nine per cent of city women have “experienced” rape in India, which is equal to a similar assault suffered by women in Thailand. As for the other two countries under survey, UK and Brazil, two and eight per cent respectively said they have “experienced” rape.

Screenshot of the website on Friday evening By Our Representative Namotel.com, the website named after Prime Minister Narenda Modi which had claimed to have begun booking Rs 99 smartphone, Namotel, appears to have suddenly gone phut. Reason? It wants to "improve" and "serve" consumers better! A visit to the website on Friday evening said, to quote word by word, "The website unavailable while we make upgrades improve (sic) our service to you. we will return with more passion and energy to serve you better."

Poster calling for protest By Our Representative Two Christian NGOs, Save Our Land (SOUL) and Watchdog Foundation, have decided to stage a strong protest in Mumbai against Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC's) “decision” to demolish the historic 450 years old Heritage Cross and the Graveyard of the Heritage Church of Our Lady of Remedy in West Kandivali.

By Rajiv Shah A recent study by a top Helsinki-based institute has found “strong evidence of discrimination against Muslim applicants” seeking to take house on rent in the National Capital Region of Delhi. The study is based, to quote, “A web-based audit of the market for rental properties offered directly by owners/landlords using a sample of 170 rental properties in the Delhi region.”

By Our Representative A new survey by a multinational advocacy group, Amnesty International, has said that 81 per cent of Indians would have no objection in welcoming into India people who flee war or persecution in another country. While this may appear to be quite high, there are 16 other countries where a higher percentage of people would be ready to accept refugees.

By Our Representative The BJP may have won Assam for the first time with a handsome margin, but its dream of having a majority in the Rajya Sabha, considered crucial for the party to push what it interprets as "economic reforms", is unlikely to materialize before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A Dongria Kondh protest rally against "intimidation" By Our Representative The National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (NCHRO), an apex body of right-based advocacy groups, has taken strong exception to unprecedented “intimidation” of Odisha’s tribals and activists pitted against multinational corporation (MNC) Vedanta Resources’ Rs 5000 crore aluminum refinery venture.

By Our Representative Government of India figures, released in the Rajya Sabha recently, have shockingly revealed that, of Gujarat’s nearly 1.59 lakh “out of school” children, 43.76 per cent are Dalits, which is one of the highest proportions in India. The revelation is particularly surprising because Gujarat has one of the lowest proportion of Dalit population in the country, less than seven per cent.

Hemant Karkare By Our Representative Veteran supercop Julio Ribeiro, a known expert on terrorism, in a signed article on June 27, 2015, had warned that "going slow on ‘Hindu terror’ is dangerous", adding, "It’s also an insult to the memory of Hemant Karkare". Ribeiro said this even as recalling his meeting with Karkare one day before the latter was killed by terrorists in 2008 fighting  in Mumbai.

By Rajiv Shah A top water resources expert, Shripad Dharmadhikary, has said in a recent paper that, taking advantage of a “flawed” policy perspective, continuing since independence, that river waters should not be allowed to “go waste” into the sea, India's powerful elite has been seeking to increasingly divert waters for industrial purpose.

Farmers display their land title in Dholera SIR By Our Representative In a move which is being interpreted as violation of the High Court ruling, the Gujarat government has begun the work of land acquisition process in the Dholera special investment region (SIR), situated in the south of Ahmedabad district.

By Our Representative Senior environmental activist and water expert Himanshu Thakkar has said that the current drought in India should clear the misconception that drams are a panacea for water scarcity. In an interview with a top business daily, Thakkar has insisted, “Big dams have proved to be a failed water resources development model.”

By Our Representative In a clear indication of failure to get any positive indication in the wake of a Supreme Court hearing on Narmada dam oustees on May 13, the country's premier anti-dam organization, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), has said that the Madhya Pradesh government has “successfully” misbriefed the apex court on Narmada dam oustees.

By Our Representative The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) believes that there is a “breakdown of discipline” among security forces deployed on anti-Maoist operations in south Chhattisgarh. It said this in a report prepared following its probe into allegations of mass sexual violence against adivasi women, assaults and looting by police and paramilitary force in the Bijapur and Sukma districts.

By Venkatesh Nayak* In a decision issued recently in one of my cases, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that under The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act), the Cabinet Secretariat (Cab. Sectt.) cannot deny access to the items on the agenda placed before the Union Cabinet after a meeting is over. The CIC has also advised the Cab. Sectt. to put in place a mechanism to monitor Departments and Ministries for their compliance with the requirement of sending monthly reports of work done by them to the Cab. Sectt. The CIC also said that is advisable for the Ministries and Departments to upload the “unclassified portions” of their monthly reports to Cab. Sectt. on their respective websites. A copy of the CIC’s order along with the RTI docs and related documents are accessible on CHRI’s website . Background to the RTI case regarding Cabinet agenda items Readers may recollect, since 2008-09 I have been using RTI to seek disclosure of the agenda items discussed by the Union ...

By Our Representative The Central Information Commission (CIC), the Central right to information (RTI) watchdog, has ruled that the Cabinet Secretariat “cannot deny access” under the RTI Act to “the items on the agenda placed before the Union Cabinet after a meeting is over”.

By Our Representative In a scathing letter to Union finance minister Jaitley, former BJP chief minister of Gujarat, Suresh Mehta, has said that Jaitley’s recent outpourings (click HERE ) against thejudiciary is the direct result of what he calls BJP’s “flamboyant Rajya Sabha MP” Subramaniam Swamy’s attacks on him.

By Our Representative The Smart Cities flagship modernization programme of the Modi government has taken a big toll in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The Biyabani and Loharpatti areas in the old part of the Indore city have borne the brunt, with the demolition of 100-150 year old houses over the last two months.

Chief justice TS Thakur By Our Representative The Campaign for Judicial Accountability & Reforms (CJAR), led by well-known human rights advocate Prashant Bhushan, has strongly supported the Supreme Court chief justice-headed Collegium of Judges' move rejecting the “national security” clause which the Modi government had sought to insert in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointing judges.

By Our Representative A two judge bench of the Supreme Court of India has sharply criticized the Gujarat government for declaring drought-like situation “far too late” – in April. It said this while  telling Government of India not to tolerate "ostrich-like attitude" of Gujarat, Haryana and Bihar on drought, while giving directions on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Aam Aadmi Party's breakaway group Swaraj Abhiyan.

By Our Representative Is the Asiatic lion, living in and around the Gir sanctuary in Junagadh district of Gujarat, no more an endangered species, at least in Government of India perception? It would seem so, if the latest list of endangered species released by Union minister for environment, forests and climate change Prakash Javdekar in the Rajya Sabha are is indication.

By Pankti Jog* The Gujarat government announced implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 from April 1, 2016, almost two-and-a-half years after it was passed in Parliament. However, in the very first month, the state has shown extremely poor performance, leaving large sections without food grains.

By Our Representative Despite the compelling order of the Allahabad High Court to reinstate Magsaysay awardee, Dr Sandeep Pandey, to the Indian Institute of Technology- Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU), Dr Pandey has said he has not been allowed to “rejoin the IIT-BHU when he went to do so on Saturday, May 7.”

Gladson Dungdung By Our Representative In a second controversial incident of “offloading” at the Delhi International Airport, young tribal human rights defender, Gladson Dungdung, who happens to be general secretary, Jharkhand Human Rights Movement (JHRM), Ranchi, was on Monday morning not allowed to board the Air India Delhi-London Flight AI 115.

Nripendra Mishra By Our Representative The Prime Minister Narendra Modi's principal secretary Nripendra Mishra is learnt to have told chief secretaries of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to work overtime to ensure to "complete" the Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) process of the Narmada dam oustees at the earliest, so that the Gujarat BJP is able to seek a "much-needed boost in terms of favourable public opinion before the Assembly elections in 2017."

By Our Representative The Bombay High Court has reportedly regretted that it cannot provide any relief to a 13-days-old girl child, resident of a slum at Yari Road, saying it is “helpless”. The apex body of many of India’s mass organizations, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), in a statement said, the court “cited its limitation in its jurisdiction to provide relief to the homeless.”

By Our Representative Releasing a list of 30 “big reforms” that the Modi government was supposed to undertake when it took office in May 2014, in a status report card, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan, nonprofit thinktank headquartered in Washington, D.C., has found that in just six of them it has succeeded in moving forward, while in 11 there has not been any progress, and in 13 there has been only a partial movement.

Sadiq Khan By Our Representative British Conservative candidate for London mayor, Zac Goldsmith – who received British Premier David Cameron’s support for wooing Gujarati and Punjabi settlers in the city by invoking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name – has faced a crushing defeat from his Labour rival Sadiq Khan, who happens to be a Muslim settler from Pakistan.

Congress' Jairam Ramesh addressing civil society convention By Our Representative In an important move, the apex body of several tribal and forest dwellers’ organizations, Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), in alliance with Congress, Janata Dal (United) and Left parties, has strongly opposed the reported move by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to “allow” mining in the forest areas without taking the consent of the local villagers.

By Our Representative The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), led by well-known human rights advocate Prashant Bhushan, has demanded that the Supreme Court and High Courts in the country should “follow the example set by the Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh High Courts, do away with vacations.”