Against the backdrop of the Supreme Court restraining the CBI from speaking to the government on its ongoing investigations into the coal scam, the law ministry feels that the probe agency can’t go about its preliminary enquiry with such communication.
“It is not possible for the CBI not to talk to the government during the course of its investigation at the stage of preliminary enquiry,” said a highly-placed ministry source, taking the apex court position head-on.
The source said that there are three stages – the first is the preliminary enquiry stage and that necessarily involves dialogue with the government otherwise the investigating agency can’t proceed with its probe. The second stage involves investigation and the last stage is filing of the charge sheet.
Taking a dim view of some courts continuing monitoring of cases even after the filing of charge sheets, the source said: “Once the charge sheets are filed, no one can supervise the matter.”
Urging that every stake holder in the system should observe the “Lakshman Rekha”, the source said it too can speak a lot as it is privy to much more information but such a course would be bad for the system.
The ministry source dismissed a Central Information Commission (CIC) order treating political parties as par with public authorities, saying the two entities were different and there was a court judgment supporting this position.
However, this “does not mean that they (political parties) should not be transparent in their functioning”, added the source.
The source did not take a favourable view of the recent apex court judgment asking the Election Commission to frame guidelines to restrain political parties from promising freebies in their election manifestos.
“Election manifesto is a manifesto of political parties and there could be no impediments in what parties want to say in it,” the source said.
(Source: IANS)
Manifestos should be realistic,honest, educating the potential voters about the existing ground situation , the problems facing the country and what the concerned poiltical party shall resolutely and honestly do if voted to power. Preferably they should project their year- wise plan showing how much they would strive to achieve in normal prevailing circumstances. Poverty reradication has been on the manifesto of a few parties but what they seem to be doing is giving “fish” to the hungry rather than giving a fishing line and teaching him how to fish. Manifestos promising the moon and strong on the spin make a simple voter live on tnisel hopes and mirages. In the end the Voter feels duped and perhaps he promises himself to be wiser the next time rounds. Even if say about 50% of the manifesto promises and programmes could have been accomplished the country would have become EL DORADO by now and not keeping a tag on the falling value of the Rupee. Manifestos should not be like the advertised beauty products promising boys and girls to make them fair/handsome and lovely. After about consuming a few bottles/tubes they realise that they have been taken for a ride. But the process goes on as more and newer hopefuls line up to to become prince/princesses charming.
Manifestos should take the voter into cofidence about the current problems and their honest ,committed and resolute plans to overcome them and make the stronger in every possible way. There is no harm if an agency like the Election Commission keeps an eye on these manifestos so as to obviate their becoming bizarre and irrelevant.