NAC AS A SUPER CABINET

[and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)]

NAC as a super Cabinet

By Kalyani Shankar
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
Friday, April 2, 2010

The revival of the National Advisory Council with Sonia Gandhi as its
head may augur well for the Congress but there are genuine concerns

The National Advisory Council, which functioned as a super Government
in many ways since its inception in 2004 till 2006 during UPA 1.0,
will have yet another stint with Congress president Sonia Gandhi its
chairperson.

The NAC is not one of the 180 odd committees and commissions set up
by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in past six years. This Government-
funded council was the top policy advising body overriding the
importance of all other institutions, including the Planning
Commission, during UPA 1.0. Eyebrows are raised at the timing of its
revival.

The term of the first NAC ended on March 2008 after Ms Sonia Gandhi
had quit in 2006 as the NAC chairperson following the office of
profit controversy. She had also resigned from her Lok Sabha seat.
The same year she was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from her Rae Bareli
constituency with record majority. Subsequently, in 2006 the
Government passed a Bill exempting 56 posts, including that of the
chairperson of the NAC, from the office of profit amidst walkout by
the BJP in Parliament. Though bungalow no. 2, Motilal Nehru Marg,
office for the NAC, was not vacated, it was assumed that the chapter
is closed.

However, the revival of the NAC is not only welcome but also
necessary. The NAC during UPA 1.0 not only functioned as a super
policy-maker but also pushed through some important legislation like
the NREGA and the Right to Information. Moreover, there are not too
many think-tank panels in the country that could independently
propose path-breaking policies. Moreover, the timing of NAC's revival
is quite significant.

Right now the Congress is under the attacks from Opposition on the
issue of price rise and inflation. Even congressmen are concerned
about it. How could they explain to the aam admi on whose support the
Congress came to power about the spiralling price rise?

First of all, the appointment of Ms Gandhi as the NAC chairman will
ensure her an institutional platform to promote UPA policies,
particularly those of the Congress, on the social and economic
reforms. With no coordination committee of the UPA and no Left
parties to function as a pressure group, the NAC's role in boosting
Government's functioning will be crucial.

Second, the NAC, with its track record, may prove to be effective
with its NGO members. The NREGA and the Right to Information Act were
conceived by the NAC.

Third, some see that the revival of the NAC is a signal that Ms
Gandhi wants to ensure her stamp on the Government policies
especially when elections are due in Bihar later this year and in
Uttar Pradesh next year. The Congress cannot be complacent about
this. As the new NAC chief with a Cabinet rank, Ms Gandhi will be in
a position to interact with the Government directly and not through
remote control.

Fourth, measures like the crucial Food Security Bill, which is one of
the party's poll promises, need to be addressed. Food security is
more important than other measures and it will be a feather in the
cap if a law is enacted in a country where 70 per cent of the
population is poor. In fact, the new census beginning this year
should be able to estimate the number of those living below the
poverty line.

The draft Food Security Bill is quite different from the one sent by
Ms Gandhi to the Prime Minister in June 2009. Insiders say that there
are some differences over its provisions like reduction of food
grains to the poor to 25 kg while the recommendation was for 35 kg.
With the revival of the NAC, this Bill may undergo some amendments
just as it happened in the case of the NREGA and the RTI. For UPA 2.0
Food Security Bill could prove to be what NREGA and the Right to
Information were for UPA 1.0.

However, the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister are not too
enthusiastic about spending another Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 crore on
food security when the Government is already battling to cut the
subsidy and the rising fiscal deficit. Hence there is a clash between
the Government and the party. But if the push comes to the shove by
the Congress president, the task will be accomplished. At the same
time, the NAC cannot ignore fiscal problems being faced by the
Government as it would not be prudent for the Government to spend
more than it could.

The Government and the NAC must work in tandem to chart welfare path
for the nation.

http://dailypioneer.com/246212/NAC-as-a-super-Cabinet.html

More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.

Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.

[and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)]

NAC as a super Cabinet

By Kalyani Shankar
Op-Ed
The Pioneer
Friday, April 2, 2010

The revival of the National Advisory Council with Sonia Gandhi as its
head may augur well for the Congress but there are genuine concerns

The National Advisory Council, which functioned as a super Government
in many ways since its inception in 2004 till 2006 during UPA 1.0,
will have yet another stint with Congress president Sonia Gandhi its
chairperson.

The NAC is not one of the 180 odd committees and commissions set up
by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in past six years. This Government-
funded council was the top policy advising body overriding the
importance of all other institutions, including the Planning
Commission, during UPA 1.0. Eyebrows are raised at the timing of its
revival.

The term of the first NAC ended on March 2008 after Ms Sonia Gandhi
had quit in 2006 as the NAC chairperson following the office of
profit controversy. She had also resigned from her Lok Sabha seat.
The same year she was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from her Rae Bareli
constituency with record majority. Subsequently, in 2006 the
Government passed a Bill exempting 56 posts, including that of the
chairperson of the NAC, from the office of profit amidst walkout by
the BJP in Parliament. Though bungalow no. 2, Motilal Nehru Marg,
office for the NAC, was not vacated, it was assumed that the chapter
is closed.

However, the revival of the NAC is not only welcome but also
necessary. The NAC during UPA 1.0 not only functioned as a super
policy-maker but also pushed through some important legislation like
the NREGA and the Right to Information. Moreover, there are not too
many think-tank panels in the country that could independently
propose path-breaking policies. Moreover, the timing of NAC's revival
is quite significant.

Right now the Congress is under the attacks from Opposition on the
issue of price rise and inflation. Even congressmen are concerned
about it. How could they explain to the aam admi on whose support the
Congress came to power about the spiralling price rise?

First of all, the appointment of Ms Gandhi as the NAC chairman will
ensure her an institutional platform to promote UPA policies,
particularly those of the Congress, on the social and economic
reforms. With no coordination committee of the UPA and no Left
parties to function as a pressure group, the NAC's role in boosting
Government's functioning will be crucial.

Second, the NAC, with its track record, may prove to be effective
with its NGO members. The NREGA and the Right to Information Act were
conceived by the NAC.

Third, some see that the revival of the NAC is a signal that Ms
Gandhi wants to ensure her stamp on the Government policies
especially when elections are due in Bihar later this year and in
Uttar Pradesh next year. The Congress cannot be complacent about
this. As the new NAC chief with a Cabinet rank, Ms Gandhi will be in
a position to interact with the Government directly and not through
remote control.

Fourth, measures like the crucial Food Security Bill, which is one of
the party's poll promises, need to be addressed. Food security is
more important than other measures and it will be a feather in the
cap if a law is enacted in a country where 70 per cent of the
population is poor. In fact, the new census beginning this year
should be able to estimate the number of those living below the
poverty line.

The draft Food Security Bill is quite different from the one sent by
Ms Gandhi to the Prime Minister in June 2009. Insiders say that there
are some differences over its provisions like reduction of food
grains to the poor to 25 kg while the recommendation was for 35 kg.
With the revival of the NAC, this Bill may undergo some amendments
just as it happened in the case of the NREGA and the RTI. For UPA 2.0
Food Security Bill could prove to be what NREGA and the Right to
Information were for UPA 1.0.

However, the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister are not too
enthusiastic about spending another Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 crore on
food security when the Government is already battling to cut the
subsidy and the rising fiscal deficit. Hence there is a clash between
the Government and the party. But if the push comes to the shove by
the Congress president, the task will be accomplished. At the same
time, the NAC cannot ignore fiscal problems being faced by the
Government as it would not be prudent for the Government to spend
more than it could.

The Government and the NAC must work in tandem to chart welfare path
for the nation.

http://dailypioneer.com/246212/NAC-as-a-super-Cabinet.html

More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.

Since newsgroup posts are being removed
by forgery by one or more net terrorists,
this post may be reposted several times.