Editorial
TO OUR READERS AND WELL-WISHERS
Letter From the Editor
Dear readers,
This issue of your journal is dedicated to the citizen’s fundamental right to walk safely with ease and dignity. The subject is close to our heart and we plan to take it up legally, but before I come to that, let me first share another important development with you. Common Cause stands vindicated by the Supreme Court judgment in the Electoral Bonds PIL which we filed jointly with the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The judgment, which scrapped the Electoral Bonds scheme as unconstitutional, has far-reaching consequences. We pointed out as early as 2017 that such an arbitrary scheme would legalise corruption and undermine the voters’ right to know who is funding which political party. It was passed as a money bill without proper parliamentary debate. It allowed even foreign companies to fund political parties through their Indian subsidiaries.
In brief, the electoral bonds removed the upper limit for donations by private companies of 7.5 per cent of the average three-year profits. This allowed companies to donate their entire worth, including capital and reserves, to political parties, even if they were running into losses. It encouraged the formation of shell companies. That is why the judgment expressed doubts about political donations from loss-making companies.
The scheme was loaded in favour of ruling dispensations at the centre and in the states. The petitioners later filed and won the subsequent, contempt of court case when the State Bank of India (SBI) tried to delay and obfuscate the information. Within hours of the disclosures, a handful of public-spirited journalists started to join the dots, linking the bonds with possible kickbacks, quid pro quo and shadowy payoffs.
Many donations appeared to be linked with awards of not only government contracts, leases, and favours but also with raids by enforcement agencies. As you read this, more and more incriminating information is tumbling out of the secret cupboards of politicians in power. We believe that the use of shell companies, quid pro quo or misuse of enforcement agencies must be thoroughly investigated under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
Coming back to the denial of our right to walk, we believe that we need to intervene, as it is something we all experience but are unable to do anything about. Every single day, pedestrians continue to die or get injured in avoidable traffic-related mishaps. It would not be an exaggeration to say that India is a country of broken roads and sidewalks. Our disregard for the special needs of children, senior citizens and the disabled is simply astonishing.
Ideally, ordinary people like us should be encouraged to walk as much as possible. But we discourage our children or elders from using footpaths due to broken sidewalks, open manholes, stray animals and wreckage piled up on footpaths. This goes on unchecked because there are no consequences for negligence or slipshod jobs. Unfortunately, all this is happening despite having excellent guidelines from the Indian Road Congress to address just this.
In the following pages of your journal, we have tried to cover a host of policy issues regarding road safety and pedestrian rights. We have also shared with you a copy of the representation we have sent to the Union Minister and top officials of concerned departments. Please let us know what you think. As always, your views and comments are welcome at commoncauseindia@gmail.com
Vipul Mudgal
Editor
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