Jan Sansad Begins at Constitution Club on Nov 26 to continue at Jantar Mantar from Nov 27-30

Peoples Assembly (Jan Sansad) at Jantar Mantar

Voices of People’s Movements  

This People’s Assembly is held during Parliament's session. It is being organized for 5 days from November 27-30, 2012 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The Jan Sansad begans at Constitution Club on Nov 26, 2012.

There will be a series of public hearings/demonstrations to bring before Parliament many basic issues awaiting legislative action. 

This will be an opportunity to build a people’s Manifesto for the 2014 elections to make it clear to political parties that they will be held accountable for not acting in the Parliament.

 

Jan Sansad is distressed by the increasing repression by the State, particularly on leaders of Campaigns and movements, as well as the assault on democratic rights of citizens. 

This will be an opportunity to collectively assert our commitment to democratic principles and protect India’s basic Constitutional framework. 

The tentative proposal is to divide the five days in the following manner:

Day 1: Asserting our Democratic Rights – Building a People’s Manifesto for 2014

“On the 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognising the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of democracy which this Constituent Assembly has so laboriously built up.” B.R. Ambedkar

November 26 is the day that the Constituent Assembly finalized the Constitution of India. The leaders of people’s movements will be invited to critique the existing economic and political framework in the context of basic Constitutional principles. They will underline the infringement of fundamental rights and the nature of the assault on democracy that has accelerated with the pushing of the “development” agenda. Some of the principles and processes required for building a viable alternative will be sketched and debated. Focus areas will include:

·         Multiple concerns of the poor

·         Responsibility of the State in eradicating poverty and provide basic services

·         Panchayati Raj and de-centralized governance

·         Neo-liberal economic framework – determining our own economic future

·         Inclusive India- addressing the concerns of marginalized communities

·         People’s control over natural resources

·         Defining Participatory Democracy

·         Deepening Democracy 

·         Fighting State repression

·         Fighting the Sedition law

·         Diversifying forms of Public Protest

·         Protecting the Freedom of expression and other democratic rights

·         Independence of Media

Day 2: Governance Issues – transparency, accountability, anti-corruption

Day 3: State Responsibility for Social Security and Basic Services 
                    ·         Pension

·         Employment

·         Un-organized Sector Worker Rights

·         Imminent threat of Cash Transfers

·         Education

·         Health

Day 4:  Land, Agriculture and Natural Resources

                    ·         Food

·         Proposed Land Acquisition Bill

·         Land Reforms Task Force

·         Seeds Bill and Bio-technology Bill

·         Budgetary allocations to agriculture

·         Renumerative prices for farmers

·         Sustainable farming and farm livelihoods

·         Income guarantee for farming households

·         Mining Policy and proposed Mining Bill

Day 5: Gender and Discrimination

These voices will help formulate a draft People’s Manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.