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| L to R: Bhakta Charan Das (INC), Rajeshwar Dyal (FES), J M Lyngdoh (Former Election Commissioner, Ramesh Chandran (GPPI-CPR) |
As part of the ongoing collaborative series
of roundtables with the FES, GPPI-CPR organized a three-segment discussion on
16 December, 2013 that enlivens our present political landscape–
Calibre and Merits of our Political
Discourse: Has it reached a new low?
The tone and tenor of our political oration
and debate by party leaders have often been categorized as undignified and
lacking in substance. Do the speeches lack clarity and vision for the country’s
future? Why don’t national leaders publicly speak more substantively on issues
relating to development and governance rather than resort to personal attacks
and embroider speeches with sentimentality.
Questions Raised on Campaign Finance of Political
Parties
How to usher in more transparency? For
instance questions have emerged over Aam Aadmi Party’s overseas funding
sources. Is it time to also investigate other major political parties such as
Congress and BJP as well as smaller regional parties? Should Congress’ and
BJP’s foreign funds be a matter of public interest? Will bringing them
under the RTI scanner prove to be a step forward in that direction?
Opinion Polls: Should they be regulated and
not banned? How far ahead of elections should they be allowed?
Opinion polls have been under severe
criticism by some parties as being erroneous and manipulated. Are they true in
disregarding such polls by claiming that they lack credibility? Can we find a
middle ground for formulating regulations instead of banning them?
15 prominent Members of Parliament including
Mr. Shantaram Naik, Mr. Bhubaneswar Kalita, Mr. H K Dua, Mr. Bharat Kumar Raut,
Mr. Neeraj Shekhar and Mr. Ponnam Prabhakar had a candid discussion on the
theme with Mr. J M Lyngdoh, Former Chief Election Commissioner who participated
in the session.
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| L to R: Bharat Kumar Raut (Shiv Sena), H K Dua (Nominated MP), Shantaram Naik (INC), Bhubaneswar Kalita (INC) |
