The passage of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by both houses of Parliament is a very significant event. It has implications for several critical areas of governance in the country. It can be interpreted in the following ways: It is (a) a struggle of power between the Executive and the Legislature, […]
Year: 2019
सूचना कानून पर मंडराता खतरा: आम लोगों को सशक्त बनाने वाला कानून को कमजोर करने की कोशिश
[ जगदीप एस छोकर ]: सूचना अधिकार कानून यानी आरटीआइ में संशोधन का एक और प्रयास शुरू हो गया है। यह प्रयास पहले किए गए प्रयासों से कुछ हटकर है। अब तक किए गए प्रयासों में संशोधन प्रस्ताव का मसौदा बनाकर विभिन्न वर्गों और जनता के बीच चर्चा के लिए रखा जाता था। वर्तमान संशोधन प्रस्ताव […]
Forget being a rich man’s democracy, we are not even a democracy: ADR’s Jagdeep S Chhokar
India is often hailed for its democracy, for empowering its poor and ordinary citizens to participate in the electoral process and play a role in shaping the country. This narrative has increasingly come under strain since the Supreme Court, through its March 2003 judgment in Union of India vs Association for Democratic Reforms, made it mandatory […]
What Happens if the 2019 Elections Lead to a Hung House?
There needs to be a broad national consensus on what to do if no party gets a majority. Trying to predict election outcomes is fraught with uncertainties. The current Lok Sabha election arguably is even more so. Still, a commonly held view seems to be that no party is likely to get to the half-way […]
Electoral Bonds: The SC’s Interim Order Puts It in a Catch-22 of Its Own Making
The provisions implemented under the scheme entail that parties do not know who their donors are. As a result, it leaves the apex court’s order open to non-compliance. The Supreme Court of India (SC) pronounced a significant “interim order” on April 12, 2019, in what might be called the electoral bonds case. These “group of […]
Following a Trail of Digital Breadcrumbs – Are the 2019 Elections Truly Safe?
The authors of this article are Prof Jagdeep Chhokar (Founder Member & Trustee of ADR) & Mr Jaskirat Singh (Trustee of ADR). The Neta app, which sprung up last year and allows users to rate their leaders, has some murky connections to media houses, political analysts and big businesses, raising red flags on the possible […]