A two-day workshop for discussing a wide range of issues for formulation of a people’s manifesto was held here, where over 100 participants drawn from various parts of the State gathered to give their inputs and approve a draft.
Prominent among the speakers were former State Information Commissioner Jagadanand, SVA president Jagadish Pradhan, People’s Manifesto Committee convener Sudarshan Chhotray, PECUC secretary Ranjan Mohanty, Gadadhar Pradhan of ODAF, Bharati Mishra of CWS, Gauranga Mahapatra of JSA, Manohar Chauhan of CSD, Pradipta Sundaray from Sikhyasandhan, Dhirendra Panda, Durga Prasad Dash and Santosh Patnaik.
Apart from social activists, representatives of different political parties including Sivananda Ray of Congress, Bhrugu Buxipatra of BJP, Santosh Das of CPI(M), Madusudan Thakur of BSP and Mahendra Parida of CPI(Ml) took part in the discussion and endorsed the viewpoints of the civil society.
The speakers said that in every five years during elections, political parties come up with their manifestos to woo voters but most often they skip real issues concerning common people.
Manifestos, which are supposed to be governance agenda for any political party, should focus more on concrete condition of the State, it’s socio-economic and geographical reality, and possible solution there in, rather than announcing sops and popular packages, which do not serve people in the long run pertaining to their socio and economic empowerment, they said.
The approach and priority of political parties should be on primary and fundamental areas of human need like food security, safe dwelling houses, safe drinking water, job assurance and minimum wage, besides ensuring their rights over natural resources. Health, education, sanitation, rural infrastructure, grassroots governance like strengthening the three-tier Panchayati Raj system by vesting more power, formation of village panchayats like other States and strengthening Pallisabhas are the other areas of concern for many, where more attention should be given. Despite introduction of a plethora of programmees and long term schemes, upliftment of the tribal and Dalit communities still remain a far cry. Efforts should be on to recognise their legitimate rights, the speakers suggested.
The most vulnerable among the deprived communities like traditional fishermen, rural artisans, displaced people, agricultural labourers, forest dependent communities, migrant labourers and above all, climate refugees and frequent disaster affected population should be given priority in any development plan and programmee. Similarly, tribal groups, Dalits, women, children and disabled community also need special protection and care, they opined.
Notably, People’s Manifesto Committee is a civil society platform formed in connection with forthcoming general elections, 2014. The mandate of the committee is to draft/publish the manifesto and share it with political parties in particular and people of the State in general. The resentatives of civil society had also brought out similar manifestos before 2004 and 2009 elections evoking good response from the
political parties.