Resolution on where sovereignty must vest
This meeting of Lok Raj Sangathan on the theme Sovereignty – in whose hands? , held on September 11, 2011 in New Delhi, Resolves that (a) sovereignty must vest in the people and all changes necessary in the political system and political process, to ensure this, must be carried out (b) the executive, legislature and judiciary must be accountable to the people.
Resolution on the right to initiate legislation
Noting the overwhelming participation of lakhs of people in all corners of the country in discussing and contributing to a strong anti-corruption legislation; and
Having observed that the major political parties in parliament are opposed to giving up the elite power of the existing Parliament to frame legislations, which invariably reflect the interests of various monopoly groups that stand to benefit from specific legistaltions, and are unwilling to hand over this right to the people,
This meeting of Lok Raj Sangathan on the theme Sovereignty – in whose hands? , held on September 11, 2011 in New Delhi,
Concludes that the existing parliamentary system and Constitution, according to which only the parliament has the right to legislate and need not consider but even go against the will of majority of the people, is outdated and anachronistic with the demand of people at the present time and is urgently in need of fundamental changes in order to ensure that sovereignty is in the hands of the people
Upholds the right of the people to initiate legislation, have a decisive say in passing legislation and to ensure its implementation in accordance with the will of the people
Demands that mechanisms be institutionalized (a) to ascertain and harmonize the will of the people before enacting legislation, such as mass referendum (b) to enable people’s control over their elected legislators so that the latter reflect the will of their electorate in parliament and state legislatures (c) to enable the right of people to oversee the implementation of the legislation
Resolution on electoral reforms
Having observed that the existing system of democracy excludes the vast majority of the people from the decision-making process; and that
Political parties financed by big corporate houses have the major say in selecting candidates for election, in forming governments, in appointing Ministers and in passing laws in their interests; and that
People have only a marginal role to play in the current political process, that of mere voting cattle on polling day, and are thereafter required to surrender all their rights to their elected representatives who cannot be held accountable to the electorate
This meeting of Lok Raj Sangathan on the theme Sovereignty – in whose hands?, held on September 11, 2011 in New Delhi,
Resolves that domination of political parties, representing the interests of big monopoly corporate houses, over the electoral process must be ended as a necessary condition towards vesting sovereignty in the hands of the people
Demands that (a) people should have the right to select and elect candidates, and if necessary the right to reject all of them; the right to recall their elected representatives if they fail to perform (b) Election expenses must be funded by the state, with equal time allocated on television and radio channels for all candidates (c) The monopoly of political parties over election symbols be eliminated.
Resolution on the Land Bill
Noting that the primary intent of the draft The Draft National Land Acquisition And Rehabilitation & Resettlement Bill, 2011 seems to be to give legal sanction to the land grab by corporates and the state under the justification of requirement of land for urbanisation, infrastructure development, industrialisation, and so on;
While at the same time, fostering an illusion that the Bill is seriously concerned about the interests of those who will lose their livelihood; and
Moreover, not making any attempt to address the question of harmonisation of land use for different purposes and the natural balance that needs to be maintained between various types of land, including forest land, agricultural land, common property land, land for urban infrastructure and industry, etc.
This meeting of Lok Raj Sangathan on the theme Sovereignty – in whose hands? , held on September 11, 2011 in New Delhi,
Demands
1. Immediate repeal of the outdated Land Acquisition Act, the SEZ Act and other land acquisition related acts.
2. Immediate withdrawal of the draft Bill which does not meet the expectations of people.
3. That the government bring out a White Paper on all the land acquired under the Land Acquisition Act from 1947 till now, the number of persons who were displaced, current utilisation of the acquired land and the status of the rehabilitation of the displaced persons.
4. The drafting of a new land use law, which will cover both urban and rural land, and organising widespread public consultation and a referendum to arrive at a consensus.
5. Impose a moratorium on all land transactions until a new accepted bill is prepared and passed
Resolution on 9/11
Having noted that the past ten years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington have been years of continuous war and destruction of lives in the name of fighting terrorism;
Observing that the terrorist attack of 9/11 served as a launching pad for a fascist military campaign to assert and impose the hegemony of US imperialism on the global scale;
That in the name of waging “war against terrorism”, the US and its allies invaded and occupied Afghanistan and Iraq, and have been bombing the northern areas of Pakistan; and that
Tens of thousands of men, women and children have been killed as a consequence of the “war against terrorism”; and that
In the aftermath of 9/11, the US imperialists have brazenly declared that the lives and liberties of peoples anywhere around the globe, and the freedom and sovereignty of countries can be treated as collateral damage; and
This meeting of Lok Raj Sangathan on the theme Sovereignty – in whose hands? , held on September 11, 2011 in New Delhi,
Asserts that all countries, small or big, have the sovereign right to have the socio-economic, political system of their choice and no country has a right to impose another system by military intervention or coercion and Condemns the “war against terrorism” led by US imperialism as an anti-social and anti-human offensive against all the principles of sovereignty and human rights.
