[We, therefore, appeal to you to at the very least allow extensive and uninterrupted discussions into every aspect of the Bill No. 12-C of 2017 in the Upper House and put all these on record and do everything else in your power to ensure that the practice of by-passing important Bills by illegitimately classifying them as Money Bills is immediately stopped.]
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: napm india <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2017 17:04:33 +0530 Subject: [Press Note] Rajya Sabha Must Protect the Spirit of the Indian Constitution Press Note *“Rajya Sabha Must Protect the Spirit of the Indian Constitution”* *Eminent Jurist and Citizens - Mr. Fali Nariman, Girish Karnad, TM Krishna, Aruna Roy, Jayati Ghosh, Zoya Hasan, Medha Patkar, Bezwada Wilson, Nandita Das, Swami Agnivesh, Usha Ramanathan, Prabhat Patnaik and more than 200 other concerned citizens have expressed concern on the classification of the Finance Bill, 2017 as a ‘Money Bill’ which is illegitimate and should not be considered as ‘Money Bill’.* *New Delhi, March 29*: Just six days ago, citizens of this country watched in shock and horror as the Finance Bill, 2017 was passed in the midst of a walk out by the Opposition in Lok Sabha. In introducing the bill as a Money Bill, the Government has continued the abuse of process where vital debates on the controversial Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Bill, 2016 were avoided by tabling it as a ‘Money Bill’. The massive 92-page document of the Finance Bill, 2017 includes 40 amendments to a number of Acts. These amendments have far reaching consequences for not only several significant laws but the very nature of Indian democracy and constitution. Following this abuse of process and avoidance of scrutiny, more than 175 persons from across civil society have written to the Vice President of India. Signatories include Fali Nariman, Prabhat Patnaik, Aruna Roy, Zoya Hasan, Medha Patkar, Jayati Ghosh, Swami Agnivesh, Usha Ramanathan, Bezwada Wilson, TM Krishna, Nandita Das, etc. The letter asks the Vice President to "allow extensive and uninterrupted discussions into every aspect of the Bill No. 12-C of 2017 in the Upper House and put all these on record and do everything else in your power to ensure that the practice of by-passing important Bills by illegitimately classifying them as Money Bills is immediately stopped.” As per this Bill, the Aadhaar card will be mandatory to file income-tax returns from July 1. The legislation also makes the unique ID compulsory to apply for a permanent account number (PAN). Speaking on the subversion of the parliamentary process in this manner, Aruna Roy of MKSS said, “In deliberate and shocking perversion of legislative procedures, the Finance Bill goes much beyond its limits to destroy basic democratic and fundamental rights.” The Finance Bill includes amendments to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, Companies Act, Employees Provident Fund Act, Information Technology Act, Smuggling and Foreign Exchange Act etc. It also allows funding of political parties to become even more opaque, increasing the potential for corruption. Jagdeep Chhokar of the Association for Democratic Reforms stated that amending forty pieces of legislation through the Finance Bill, 2017, without application of mind of the Rajya Sabha, runs completely against the spirit of the Indian Constitution. Speaking on the proposed amendments related with political funding, he said, “Allowing electoral bonds on the donor’s side and removing the name of the recipient brings in complete opacity in political funding. This must be critically examined.” Well-known Economist Jayati Ghosh stated that "The Bill contains several provisions that will drastically increase “black money” and corruption. While the Government and the Speaker have ignored the concerns raised by the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, it has become a duty to speak out and raise concerns following the passage of a Bill that has in one fell swoop affected so many multiple rights that we normally take for granted." Some of the signatories have asked for an appointment to meet the Vice President and present the letter and their concerns in person. An online petition has also been put up to garner more support on this issue. Copies of the letter were sent to members of the Opposition and the Rajya Sabha from different parties with the hope that a resolution might be moved stating that this bill cannot and should not be considered a money bill. *March 29, 2017* *Shri Hamid Ansari Chairperson, Rajya Sabha,New Delhi * *On the ongoing Illegitimate and inappropriate usage of the provisions related with Money Bills and Finance Bills by the Government* *Dear Hon'ble Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha,* As concerned citizens of India, we are appalled and dismayed at the Government’s use of Money Bills to push through important legislation that affects all citizens, without requiring approval by both houses of Parliament. This undemocratic strategy has already been employed in the case of the Aadhaar Bill, even though it contains many provisions that go well beyond is-sues relating to taxation and money appropriations of the government, which will directly affect every citizen of the country in numerous ways. Despite the fact the millions of citizens will be denied their rights because of this, the Bill makes access to many essential and other public services contingent on Aadhaar. It is already evident that making it compulsory in food distribution in some states has excluded many needy and deserving citizens without cause.The Bill allows for unprecedented surveillance of every citizen and massive invasion of privacy. These can be used by governments at different levels to target political opponents and dissidents, as well as others. Because it enables data sharing even by private companies, it renders all citizens vulnerable to identity theft, fraud, cyber-piracy, data breaches and other uses of their personal data with very serious security implications. Furthermore, the protections and cyber-security provisions in the Bill are inadequate and do not meet the standards prevalent in most countries. Despite all these concerns, the Bill will not even be debated in the Rajya Sabha and has not been subject to adequate public scrutiny. The most recent and alarming case of passing important and far reaching laws in the guise of Money Bills is the inclusion in the Finance Bill of some very important features that actually have no place in such a Bill and deserve to be independently discussed and debated. The Bill contains several provision that will drastically increase “black money” and corruption. An important provision would enable political parties to receive unlimited and anonymous funding from corporate entities and from abroad, and will make electoral bonds anonymous. Since it is well known that political funding is probably the most important source of corruption in the country making it more opaque flies in the face of claims to greater transparency and will make matters even worse than they are at present with terrible implications for electoral democracy in the future. It is also in complete contrast to the treatment meted out to NGOs and civil society groups fighting for people’s rights, who are not being allowed to receive legitimate funds on dubious grounds. The Finance Bill also gives sweeping powers without accountability to the Income Tax department, which can encourage extortion at all levels. Such Bills, which have serious implications for democratic functioning and financial security of all citizens, require serious and extensive public discussion and debate at all levels, with knowledge of the full implications of all of their provisions. Therefore, they cannot and should not be passed as Money Bills. ***We, therefore, appeal to you to at the very least allow extensive and uninterrupted discussions into every aspect of the Bill No. 12-C of 2017 in the Upper House and put all these on record and do everything else in your power to ensure that the practice of by-passing important Bills by illegitimately classifying them as Money Bills is immediately stopped.*** [Emphasis added by Sukla] We appeal to you to protect the rights and duties of the Upper House and the interests of all the people of India. These Bills and the relevant provisions that cannot be described as routine in any sense, must be subject to proper democratic scrutiny in both houses of Parliament. *Signed by,* Aruna Roy, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus, JNU, New Delhi Fali Nariman, Eminent Jurist and Senior Advocate, Supreme Court Jayati Ghosh, Professor, JNU, New Delhi Zoya Hasan, Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University Anand Teltumbde, Author, Civil Rights Activist and Management Professional T M Krishna, Musician, Writer, Public Speaker, Activist Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan, NAPM Mary E John, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi Girish Karnad, Playwright, Actor, Director EAS Sarma, Former Secretary to the Govt. of India Deep Joshi, PRADAN Kalpana Kannabiran, Council for Social Development, Hyderabad Nikhil Dey, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan Teesta Setalvad, Citizens for Justice and Peace Ram Puniyani, All India Secular Forum Wajahat Habibullah, Former Chief Information Commissioner Prashant Bhushan, Senior Counsel, Supreme Court of India Nandini Sundar, Professor, Department of Sociology, Delhi University Trilochan Sastry, Association for Democratic Reforms Achin Vanaik, Retired Professor, University of Delhi Yogendra Yadav, President, Swaraj India Pamela Philipose, Senior Journalist Jagdeep Chhokar, Association for Democratic Reforms Harsh Mander, Centre for Equity Studies Prof. Anandalakshmy, President, Bala Mandir Research Foundation, Chennai Bezwada Wilson, Safai Karmchari Andolan Nandita Das, Actor, Writer, Director Amar Kanwar, Film-maker Lalit Mathur, Former IAS Officer Satish Deshpande, Professor, Delhi University Vrinda Grover, Advocate, Supreme Court of India Bina Agarwal, Professor of Development Economics Usha Ramanathan, Independent Legal Researcher, Delhi Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology, Delhi Mohini Giri, Guild of Service Annie Raja, National Federation of Indian Women Manisha Sethi, Jamia Milia Islamia University, Delhi Sumi Krishna, Writer, Researcher and Teacher, Bengaluru Reyhan Datta, SOS Children’s Village, West Bengal Arundhati Dhuru, NAPM, Uttar Pradesh Sandeep Pandey, Prof. and Activist Sadanand Menon, Freelance Media Person Nityanand Jayaraman, Writer, social activist, Chennai Krishnakant Chauhan, NAPM Suhas Kolhekar, NAPM Osama Manzar, Digital Empowerment Foundation Anjali Bhardwaj, NCPRI Kavita Srivastava, PUCL Rajasthan Gabriele Dietrich, NAPM and Pennurimai Iyakkam Vasanth Kannabiran, Activist and Writer Sanjay Kak, Film-maker, Delhi Rohini Hensman, Author and Activist Mamta Jaitly, Vividha, Jaipur Kamayani Bali- Mahabal, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Mumbai Bhaskar Prabhu, Mahiti Adhikar Manch, Mumbai and NCPRI Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre Rajendra Ravi, NAPM Swami Agnivesh Nivedita Menon, Jawaharlal Nehru University Aditya Nigam, CSDS, Delhi Daniel Mazgaonkar, Sarvodaya Movement Pradip Prabhu, Kashtakari Sanghatna Bela Bhatia, Researcher, Activist, Chhattisgarh Sudhir Vombatkere, NAPM Irfan Engineer, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism Anupam Saraph, Innovator and Thought Leader Dyuti, Researcher, Delhi Raksha Kumar, Independent Journalist Neha Dixit, Independent Journalist Laxmi Murthy, Journalist, Bangalore Vipul Mudgal, Common Cause Amrita Johri, NCPRI Revati Laul, Independent Journalist and Film-maker Annie Thomas, Journalist, Chennai Gopal Krishna, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties Aruna Burte Rina Mukherji, Independent Journalist, Kolkata Radhika Desai Radha Holla Bhar, Independent Researcher Manoj Mitta, Independent Journalist Arun Gupta, International Baby Food Action Network Amrita Shodhan Kiran Shaheen, Activist, Delhi Rita Anand, Editor, Civil Society Panchali Ray, Jadavpur University Mohan Rao, Professor, JNU, New Delhi James Pochury, Delhi Aruna Rodrigues, Madhya Pradesh A Mani, University of Calcutta Farah Naqvi, Independent Writer & Activist Rajni Palriwala, Professor, Dept. of Sociology, Delhi University Wilfred Dcosta, Indian Social Action Forum, New Delhi Snehlata Gupta, University of Delhi Vickram Krishna Indu Prakash Singh, Activist, Delhi Linda Chhakchhuak Jayanti Banerjee Dipak Dholakia Bhavani, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation Sharad Lele, Bangalore Subhash Gatade, New Socialist Initiative Virginia Saldanha, Indian Christian Women’s Movement Ammu Joseph, Journalist, Bangalore Anita Cheria, OpenSpace, Bangalore Chhaya Datar R Padmini, Child Rights Trust, Bangalore Jhuma Sen, Asst. Prof., O P Jindal Global University Niti Saxena Richa Singh, Sangtin Kisan Majdoor Sangthan Nazariya Foundation, New Delhi Ramshanker Tiwari, Retd. Labour Commissioner (Central) Svati Joshi, Academic, Formerly with the Delhi University Karuna D W, Researcher, Chennai Shashank Kela, Writer, Chennai Astrid Lobo, Satyashodhak and Indian Christian Women’s Movement Chayanika Shah, Forum Against Oppression of Women, Mumbai Rakhi Sehgal, Labour Activist, Delhi Seema, Bhopal Vandana Mahajan, Independent Practitioner Kalpana Mehta, Indore Sherna Gandhy, Pune Roshmi Goswami Madhu Sarin, CSD, Chandigarh Ammu Abraham, Forum Against Oppression of Women, Mumbai Anubha Rastogi, Advocate, Mumbai Ritu Dewan Madhu Mehra, Lawyer, New Delhi Suniti S R, NAPM Meera Sanghamitra, NAPM Sharanya, Humane, Koraput Kalyani Menon Sen, Feminist Learning Partnerships S. Anandhi, Associate Prof., Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai. Sejal Dave, ANANDI Qaneez Sukhrani, Association of Nagar Road Citizens’ Forums, Pune Sujata Patel, President, Indian Sociological Society Stan Swamy Bagaicha, Ranchi, Jharkhand Prakash Burte Anwar Jafri, Samavesh, Madhya Pradesh Suneeta Dhar, Activist, New Delhi Sheetal Sharma, North East Network, Assam Padmaja Shaw, Retd. Professor, Osmania University Wilson Naik Rathore, Hyderabad University Nitya Ghotge, Pune Shobha, Human Rights Activist, Bangalore Mira Shiva, Coordinator, Initiative for Health & Equity in Society Malini Manjoly, Bihar Sobha Rani, University of Hyderabad Manjari Katju, University of Hyderabad Varghese Theckanath S.G., Montfort Social Institute, Hyderabad Vikram Vyas, Ajit Foundation Science Centre Vinatha Viswanathan Indira C, Public Health Researcher, Delhi Anuradha Kapoor, Kolkata Neeraj Malik, former professor, Delhi University Javed Malick, former professor, Delhi University National Federation of Indian Women Payal Dhar, New Delhi Aheli Moitra, The Morung Express, Nagaland Koninika Ray, National Federation of Indian Women Padma Velaskar, Retd. Prof., TISS, Mumbai Sadhna Arya, University of Delhi Abha Bhaiya, Activist Monisha Behal, Activist Aravinda Potluri, Independent Solidarity Activist A.Suneetha, Senior Fellow, Anveshi, Hyderabad Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh, Pune Shweta Rao, Delhi Aditi Chanchani, EQUATIONS Satinath Sarangi, Bhopal Group for Information and Action Rashida Bee & Champa Devi Shukla, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karmchari Sangh Nawab Khan, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha Balkrishna Namdeo, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha Saheli Women's Resource Centre, New Delhi Alok Prasanna Kumar, Advocate, Supreme Court Madhuresh Kumar, NAPM Aniket Alam Nandini Rao, Activist, Delhi Shakil Nazim, Former Officer, Govt. of Rajasthan Col. Pavan Nair VSM (Retd.), Trustee Jagruti Seven Sanstha, Pune Aruna Chandrasekhar, Independent Journalist Alamu R, Jawaharlal Nehru University M.G.Devasahayam, Convener, Forum for Electoral Integrity, Chennai Geeta Seshu, Independent Journalist, Mumbai Anuradha Kapoor, Swayam, Kolkata Brinelle D'Souza, Faculty, Tata Institute of Social Sciences Sangeeta Chatterji Sharmila, Department of HSS, IIT Bombay Olga Netto, ICWM, Mumbai Madhusree Mukherjee, Kolkata Madhu Bhushan, Independent Activist, (Re)searcher, Writer, Bangalore Dr. Amar Jesani, Mumbai R. Krishnaswami, Erode, Tamilnadu Dr.Murali Lingam, Popular Hospital, Bangalore Philomena D'Souza, Nashik Vahida Nainar Devvrat, Advocate, Supreme Court Mahi Pal Singh, Indian Radical Humanist Association Rachael Alphonso, ICWM and Green Madcaps Bhanwar Meghwanshi, Journalist, Author and Dalit Activist Preeti Sampat, Academic, Ambedkar University, Delhi Simpreet, Mumbai, TISS Radhakant Saxena, PUCL, Rajasthan Prem Shankar Sharma, PUCL, Rajasthan K. Saradamoni and G. Asha Jagdish Patel, Peoples Training and Research Centre, Vadodara Saikat Ghosh, Assistant Professor, IIT-Kanpur Dr. Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, Chairman J&K RTI Movement Pushkar Raj, New Delhi Kaushik Ghosh, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA Sudeshna Sengupta Yug Mohit Chaudhary, Senior Advocate, Mumbai High Court Pandav Nayak, IGNOU, New Delhi Rakesh Ganguli, Development Practitioner, Maharashtra Battini Rao, Progressive Organisation of People Dr.G.Vijay, Assistant Professor, School of Economics, University of Hyderabad *and many more.* ------------------------- For more information, please contact- 9414004180, 9910421260 (Nikhil Dey) -- =============================================== National Alliance of People’s Movements National Office : 6/6, Jangpura B, Mathura Road, New Delhi 110014 Phone : 011 24374535 Mobile : 09818905316 Web : www.napm-india.org | [email protected] Facebook : www.facebook.com/NAPMindia Twitter : @napmindia -- -- This mailing list is for dissemination of news and views on the communities struggles in India defending their land, water, air, rivers from hungry predatory corporations, policy formulations, announcements on struggles, action alerts and request for support. 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