Lok Satta Party national president Jayaprakash Narayan called for carrying out a cost-benefit analysis of various options on the table in connection with the move to bifurcate the State and suggested the need for a national platform for reconciliation.Participating in a panel discussion during a consultation on “Dealing with the costs of division: A dialogue towards reconciliation” organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy here on Saturday, he observed that politics was the art of reconciling conflicting positions and expressed confidence that nothing was intractable. The dialogue focused on ways to find workable solutions to the various contentious issues that have dogged the process of de-merger of the State. Source: The Hindu, HYDERABAD, September 22, 2013 Read More... [https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/national-platform-for-reconciliation-needed-on-bifurcation-issue-says-lok-satta-chief/article5154564.ece].

The status of Hyderabad in the event of bifurcation of the State continues to be a hotly debated issue in the political, academia and other circles. The issue which figured in a meeting organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy saw some interesting observations by speakers who felt that centralised development of the State capital with concentration of political power as well as infrastructure had made it a bone of contention in the bifurcation of the State. Source: The Hindu, HYDERABAD, September 22, 2013 Read More... https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/hyderabad-evokes-hot-debate-in-political-and-academic-circles/article5154707.ece

Participants at a round-table on the Telangana conundrum have more or less ruled out accepting Hyderabad as Union Territory on the lines of Chandigarh or making it a joint capital for Telangana and Andhra on a permanent basis. The round table, organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy on ‘Dealing with the Costs of Division: A dialogue towards Reconciliation’ here on Saturday, sought to know the opinions of a cross-section of society on the road ahead with the Centre making it clear that it wants to divide the state. Source: The New Indian Express, HYDERABAD, 22-09-2013 Read More... http://newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/Round-table-opposes-Hyderabad-as-UT-or-joint-capital/2013/09/22/article1796988.ece

The Congress-led UPA coalition came under criticism for the manner in which it has been handling the contentious Telangana Statehood issue without taking up reconciliation measures and giving assurances that it would address the concerns of the two regions. The Centre should have taken the initiative of convening meetings of the stakeholders and allayed their apprehensions giving specific assurances, but no effort has been forthcoming in that direction resulting in rising animosities among the people. Though the government had clarified that there was no going back on its decision, it had failed to explore common areas of reconciliation and the way forward, speakers at a meeting organised here on Saturday said. The meeting was organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy with the theme “Dealing with the costs of division — a dialogue towards reconciliation.” ( www.thehinducentre.com ) Source: The Hindu, HYDERABAD, September 22, 2013 Read More... https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/why-no-reconciliation-efforts-on-telangana/article5154651.ece

The time has come for the country to look at an alternative electoral process and move away from the ‘first-past-the-post’ (FPTP) system to ‘proportional representation’ (PR), according to a member of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and founder-president of Lok Satta party, Jayaprakash Narayan. The FPTP electoral process currently in the country had become vitiated to a stage where the “best and brightest” were literally unelectable because of the election expenses in fashion. “In major States, it costs between Rs. 2 crore and Rs. 6 crore to compete as an MLA and up to Rs. 10 crore to compete as an MP,” he said on Saturday, delivering a lecture-discussion on ‘Towards electoral reform: money power in electoral politics and campaign spending’ organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy at the newspaper office here. Source : The Hindu, CHENNAI, August 25, 2013 Read more ... https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/lok-satta-chief-wants-proportional-representation-system/article5056371.ece

Reforms in the political process that will make the ‘desirable’ people also ‘electable’ will help clean up the system and improve governance, felt Jayaprakash Narayan, Founder-President, Lok Satta Party.The first-past-the-post approach to electing the legislators has brought to centre-stage money power and fringe issues as just a few percentage of votes become a decisive factor in coming to power. “The good are marginalised in politics” and the “best and brightest individuals are unelectable” in this system that fosters corruption. One option to counter this issue is proportional representation to the legislature, he felt.At a lecture on electoral reforms and money power in electoral politics and campaign spending organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, he said money power in elections may not guarantee victory but lack of it ‘ensures defeat.’Legislators spend up to Rs 2-5 crore for an Assembly Constituency and up to Rs 10 crore for a Parliamentary Constituency in leading states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.Money power and ‘reckless populism’ to stay in power are happening at the cost of nation building. Proportional representation will encourage people to “vote for what is right rather than what is might,” he said.N. Ravi, Member of the Board of Management of The Hindu Centre, said in his introductory remarks that there has been an alarming rise in the influence of money on elections. It gives rise to the question, “if it is at all possible to fight elections innocently – that is, staying within the four corners of the law.”(This article was published on August 25, 2013) Source : The Hindu Business Line, CHENNAI, August 25, 2013.[https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/politics/people-should-be-able-to-vote-for-what-is-right-not-might/article5058413.ece].

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Special Commissioner S N Srivastava does not think the time is ripe for legalising betting in sports as it cannot be established that this will bring down match fixing.However, industry participants at FICCI’s interactive session on ‘Regulating Sports Betting: Way Forward to Counter Match Fixing?’ felt that this would curb match fixing.In the light of incidents of match and spot fixing in the recently concluded IPL in India, many stakeholders advocated creation of a new stricter legal framework and legalisation of sports betting to keep a check on match and spot fixing.The moderator of the session, FICCI Sports Committee chairman and Tata Metaliks MD Sanjiv Paul voiced the misgivings in the minds of stakeholders on sports betting, its possible regulation and issues related to addictive tendencies of vulnerable classes.

The IPL scandal has raised questions over the way we view betting itself. Betting falls into a grey area of morality, which leaves much in the eyes of the beholder and paves the way for it to become a convenient target in the wake of such controversies.The simple fact is this – betting is not illegal in India. With respect to some forms of betting, like horse races, the turf club administering the betting takes a cut for itself and the government. The problem arises when betting is perceived as gambling. This is a question that has been through various rounds of litigation over the years. The courts have even recognised some forms of betting as involving a certain amount of skill, automatically bringing them outside the realm of gambling.In a recent policy document brought out by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy in the form of an issue brief, research scholars delved into the reasons why betting falls into a grey area over its morality...Read more... [https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2013/jun/10/Why-punting-falls-in-moralitys-grey-area-485345.html].

There is a need for an overhaul of both legislation and the paradigms concerning gambling if any corrective or regulatory measures are to be taken with regard to the spot fixing controversies that have dogged the Indian Premier League. The fundamental of the problem, however, lies in the lack of clarity over the moral position of gambling, according to an Issue Brief released by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy on Thursday. The recently launched think tank has called for detailed studies on various aspects of gambling and its impact on society. These were part of the observations and analyses that were part of the first public policy document released by the Centre. The Issue Brief addressed four clearly delineated aspects of the gambling conundrum in chapters titled ‘The Moral Greyness of Gambling’, ‘Legal Framework of Gambling & Sports-Betting in India’, ‘Not Cricket’ and ‘Regulation of Gambling in Other Countries’. read more

Taking the ongoing debate on the betting, spot fixing controversy in Indian cricket to a serious level, the Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy on Thursday called for regulating gambling through a new legal frame work in its First Issue Brief entitled Twisted Willow: Gambling, Sport & Cricket in India.Seeking to clear intellectual and moral confusion around the issue of gambling itself, the Centre’s three young research scholars dug deep into the worrisome aspect of betting in all its ramifications and studied the legal framework and found its paternalistic attitude towards gambling and its focus on prohibition and punishment out of tune with modern day ground reality.Distinguishing betting (gambling) from other crimes and vices like cheating and fraud, the Hindu Centre in its Issue Brief suggested that “there is a need to have the right to do wrong”.Elaborating, the three young authors of the 32-page report - Rajgopal Saikumar, Abhishek Mukherjee and Harsimran Kalra - said that the suggestion implied a fundamental liberty to make choices and “Wrong” implies certain victimless, amoral wrongs such as gambling.“Based on the importance of liberty and individual choice, we suggest that the law not prohibit gambling but make a moral philosophical argument for regulating gambling,” the Hindu Centre Issue Brief said.Read more...[https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/hindu-centre-gambling-needs-to-be-regulated/story-eg0bNrbOhW7UTY27SGZcjN.html].

The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy’s first ‘Issue Brief’ focuses on gambling and sport

‘Twisted Willow’ seeks to liberate gambling from its moral overtones and define its place in liberated economy

A delegation of British Members of Parliament visited The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy on Friday. Headed by Alun Cairns, the Commonweal

Amidst the elite gathering of politicians, journalists, scholars and diplomats, President unveiled a plaque as he inaugurated The Hindu Centre for Politics & Public Policy – a research centre by the publishers of The Hindu – yesterday at Rashtrapati Bhavan Auditorium in New Delhi. The new think tank aims to encourage research and discussion on critical matters related to politics and public policy. The occasion was graced by several prominent political leaders like former Prime Minister Shri HD Deve Gowda, UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi, BJP leader Shri L.K. Advani, CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat, Ministers Shri Farooq Abdullah, Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, Shri G.K. Vasan, Shri Shashi Tharoor and other senior politicians. Expressing deep appreciation for the objectives of the Hindu Centre, Mr. Mukherjee reflected on what he had learnt about the essence of democracy over the years. “We were told by our teacher of Political Science that three Ds are essentials for democracy, that is, discussion, dissension and finally decision. And when I retired from Parliament, on the day of my election as President, I found that another D which has injected in between, that is, Disruption”, President said. Source : Kulhar.

Expressing serious concern over the menace of disruptions in Parliament and legislatures, President Pranab Mukherjee today said time has now come to address the issue which cannot simply be brushed aside as necessary to bring a recalcitrant administration to its knees. “In my younger days we were taught that the essence of democracy is 3D–debate and discussion, dissent and finally decision. But when I retired from Parliament in July (after over four decades in public life), I find there was another D–disruption of proceedings of the House,” he said. Mukherjee was speaking after inaugurating “The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy”–a think tank on public policies and governance-set up by 134-year-old English daily The Hindu in Chennai. The function, in which he inaugurated the centre by unveiling a plaque was attended by a galaxy of personalities that included Congress President Sonia Gandhi, senior BJP leader LK Advani, former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, CPI General Secretary Prakash Karat, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Union ministers and MPs. The President, who had a long distinguished Parliamentary career, also spoke on the need to discuss how institutions of Parliamentary democracy can be strengthened. Speaking on disruptions, he said, "We cannot simply brush it aside and say it may be necessary. The persons who are doing it, these are persons in Parliament who are equally responsible personalities. Is it not time to find out how to address the issue." Mukherjee said it is said that sometimes it is necessary to bring around a recalcitrant administration for finding a resolution to issues. However, the President said, questions arise whether disruptions puts pressure on the government or simply denies rights of members of the house. Or whether it provides advantage to government because when question hour is disrupted, it prevents members from questioning the government on issues including policy violations, he said. Mukherjee said that in the newly-liberated countries democracy has thrived where government supported Parliamentary institutions. "Where it failed was in countries where government did not institutions of democracy like judiciary and free press and legislature and executive," he said, adding how these institutions can be made more effective. Recalling the functioning of Parliament immediately after independence, he said Parliament used to have exhaustive discussions on budget and finance bill. The size of the first budget in independent India was Rs 197 crore of which revenue was Rs 171 crore. The military expenditure was Rs96 crore and civil was Rs 101 crore. The first Plan size was Rs 2000 crore, on whose approach paper there was four days of discussion and later debate on mid-term appraisal. Now, he said, the budget is of the size of Rs12 lakh crores and the 12th Plan size Rs37 lakh crore. "How do we do justice to these budgetary discussions because MPs and MLAs have the exclusive authority to authorise their spending and question their government," he said. Mukherjee said that now government has brought in Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management (FRBM) act to check borrowings. "The short point I am driving is how to strengthen parliamentary democratic institutions. The Supreme Court has ruled that Parliamentary system is a basic structure of the Constitution which cannot be challenged," he said.  Referring to the problem of huge electorate, Mukherjee asked one issue was how to establish contact between elector and electorate so that pressure on Parliament can be limited to a few subjects. "I don't have answers but questions are staring at us. Corruption, some sense of cynicism has arisen. How we can address it," he said. He said India's forefathers provided democracy and it was our duty to preserve it. Referring to the "frustration" that the country sees now, Mukherjee said it was not confined to one territorial integrity but spread all over. He also said that the world was a global village and Indian cannot remain isolation. The President recounted the role of media in freedom movement and lauded Hindu's pioneering role in modern Indian journalism. Addressing the gathering former Editor-in-Chief of  The Hindu  N Ram said the country is faced by some tough challenges in the form of corruption, mis-governance, violation of women's rights and massive deprivations. "It has become a fashion to decry politics as a cynical game but we firmly disagree with it. We regard public policies and governance vital for the society," he said, adding that the The Hindu Centre will conduct fast-track discussions and researches in areas of public policies and governance. Praising the performance of Justice JS Verma Committee- formed to suggest changes in anti-rape laws, he said, "It submitted its recommendations in just 30 days and it will be an inspiration for us." Director of the Centre Malini Parthasarathy said the think tank will conduct research, seminars and workshops while re-examining fundamental constitutional principles. "It will not be just a theoretical institution but a multi-faceted one. We also think that secularism and social justice needs to be re-examined with complete fairness and honesty while issues like cultural and competitive nationalism should be discussed," she said. Former Editor of the paper N Ravi said that the centre will perform its tasks in shaping policies over governance and challenges facing the nation. The Hindu centre will function as a credible and independent platform for exploration of ideas and public policies and will contribute to rebuilding of public faith in India's democratic process. "The Hindu Centre will not just be a discourse enabler or a marketplace of ideas. We are clear that we are promoting civic identity as primary component of nationalism and we intend for our research to re-energise basic democratic values of pluralism and social equity," a statement from the daily said. The Centre will be guided by an advisory board comprising eminent scholars and intellectuals. Its board of management will comprise N Ram, N Ravi and Malini Parthasarathy. The advisory board will include Zoya Hasan, Dean of School of Social Sciences, JNU; Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President and CEO, Centre for Policy Research; Sunil Khilanani, director of King's India Institute, London and Martha Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics University of Chicago. Yogendra Yadav, Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies; Navin Chawla, former Chief Election Commissioner of India; and Gurcharan Das, management expert, author and commentator on public affairs, will also be the advisory board members. The Centre will also embark on the task of building research that will revisit key constitutional concepts and examine validity of post-Independence set of political values to asses their relevance and utility in terms of crisis of confidence besetting the system today, the statement said. It will have a view distinct and independent of editorial perspective of the Hindu Group of publications, the statement said. Source : Firstpost.India.

Unhappy over disruptions in parliament, President Pranab Mukherjee Thursday said it was “unfortunate” that not enough time was being devoted to discussions on financial matters in the House. “It is unfortunate that disruption has become a part of parliamentary functioning. It is not clear whether this disruption puts any serious pressure on the government,” he said inaugurating the Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy via video-conferencing here. “The parliament is the sole authority to give approval for expenditure of the government. It is unfortunate that not enough time is being devoted to discussions on financial matters in parliament,” he added. Source : Vancouverdesi