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Journalism of Courage
Aruna Roy8217;s letter resigning from the National Advisory Council is more revealing than she perhaps intended it to be. Roy, who has done impressive work in gaining the right to information in Rajasthan and in pressuring legislation on the subject at the Centre, says she is doing so in the absence of unequivocal government support to the Common Minimum Programme. The specifics of her complaint are interesting. For all her good intent, for instance, her letter to the PM demands of his government an alarming inflexibility and overreach. She is pained to see work on the Narmada dam proceeding apace, never mind that it is on the Supreme Court8217;s orders. But the dilemma posed in her letter is larger. It calls in question the sort of partnership between government and civil society proposed by the NAC.
In the euphoric aftermath of the Congress8217;s return to power at the Centre, a new way was announced. The expertise and experience of the non-governmental sector was sought to be harnessed in an experiment in keeping the government honest to its stated promise. Men and women from NGOs would assist NAC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi 8212; also gone from the post, for other reasons 8212; in advising the government on how to adhere to provisions of the CMP. In that effort, Jean Dreze 8212; who resigned earlier 8212; brought considerable expertise in drafting the employment guarantee legislation. Roy made her presence felt on RTI. Two years on, their departures testify to the flawed vision on which the NAC was populated.
