What we want in poll manifestos

What do we want in election manifestos? Grandiose dreams? Or will the political parties include a 'shadow budget' to show how much money is actually required to actualise those dreams, how they will raise those resources? Current manifestos and budgets are devoid of crucial details, making them just castles in the air that are meant to give false hopes to the public.

What do we want from the winning party after elections? Civil Society Forum, a coalition of 33 organisations and individuals asks for the following: all basic human rights and entitlements, such as food, water, housing, child care, education, health, employment and social security should be universalised and delivered by the State. Long- and short-term vision plans should be drawn up and the budgets required for universalising these within time-frames should be earmarked through a law.

Once a party gains power, will its representatives hide themselves from us for five years or will they institutionalise mechanisms by which they will face the public periodically at all levels of government and hold themselves to account on the promises they have pledged to fulfil? For this, a law to provide "Responsible Governance", encompassing citizens' rights -- to information, to pre-legislative consultation, to time-bound grievance redressal, to face-to-face hearings and to social audits -- should be passed.

Will their plans be 'inclusive, sustainable and equitable' for the development of all regions of the state, or will a disproportionate amount of money be invested in Bengaluru, merely to solve its traffic problem, to the detriment of all other regions, which is the cause of the massive influx into Bengaluru as the only pathway to a better life?

Will they continue to dole out loan waivers for struggling and suicidal farmers, and scatter crumbs through a host of charity-oriented schemes for the toiling masses? Or, will they empower them with sustainable and dignified livelihoods so that they survive on their own strength? One cannot go on sacrificing the farming community to keep the prices of food low for consumers.

A law should be passed to fix a 'minimum selling price' for all crops produced even by small and marginal farmers. They should be also helped to set up cooperatives/companies to access credit from banks -- to free themselves from money-lenders -- and to invest jointly in machinery, store-houses, transportation, etc., to achieve economies of scale. Five acres of land should be given to all landless to give them an asset base.

Labour in the unorganised sector should be fixed wages high enough to cover all basic needs of a worker and his family, at about Rs 18,000/month, so that they do not need to depend upon doles from the government. Rather, employers unable to afford these amounts should be subsidised. Fixing of minimum wages sector by sector which takes ages should be given up and a common minimum wage fixed annually for unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled work in all sectors.

While governments pride themselves on having created jobs in high-end sectors like IT & BT through foreign direct investments, etc., do they realise that, at the same time, livelihoods of the really needy poor are getting destroyed through their displacement for infrastructure projects and by forced evictions of slum-dwellers/vendors?

Governments need to ensure Right to Employment for all. Failure to provide minimum days of work and delayed payments for MNREGA work cannot be the means for achieving it. Even in urban areas, decentralised micro-business centres mandated under the SJSRY scheme, that provide support to the self-employed, and act as placement centres for wage-seekers, never saw the light of day.

A fresh state Act for Unorganised Workers' Social Security should be passed and funds for the same raised through worker, employer and government contributions to provide all nine social security benefits prescribed by ILO.

A Right to Housing Act needs to be passed, money earmarked for reserving/acquiring/purchasing land to make all cities slum-free and title deeds to land given to slum-dwellers to build their houses themselves.

If the shame of malnourishment has to be wiped out and human development ensured of the youngest citizens, all anganwadis need to be converted into full-time day-care centres for children 0-6 years. This is also to help all working women with young children. The onus of finding land/premises for anganwadis/day-care centres should not be on the communities but on governments.

Lakhs of children still drop out before completing eight years of compulsory education. Unless the state assists their parents adequately or takes charge of these children, we will have future citizens who will be disempowered and unable to come out of poverty. The Child Labour Act allows children aged 14 years to work before acquiring any skills. To prevent this, education should be made compulsory for adolescents between 15 and 18 years, with an option for a vocational stream.

Above all, will the elected party make our democracy truly secular and socially just?

(The writer is Executive Trustee of CIVIC Bangalore)