What are the implications of change of Government in a democracy is a subject needed to be studied not only by the general public but more importantly by the administrative structure of the State. This is essentially part of democratization of institutions and administrative structures. Political parties are not and have not to be the enemies and adversaries of one another in a democracy because democracy is the science or philosophy of convergence. Political parties and changing regimes have to be competitive not divisive.
When a new Government in a democratic dispensation assumes reins of power after polling majority of votes, that happens only on the basis of agenda it as floated in the shape of its manifesto. As soon as it takes the driver’s seat, its foremost concern is to devise constitutional and rational means and methods to make that manifesto practical and implementable. Let us explain this through a concrete example. In the manifesto of BJP, it has been said among other things that the party will reach the more deprived classes of society, sections of rural society that need to be accessed and brought within the fold of development. After about three years of being in power, the Modi Government has during this period floated some new developmental, reformative and informative projects and monitored the progress of the same. A little more than two years from now, BJP will be taking part in the Parliamentary elections to win power for the second time. The first and foremost question which the electorate will ask is the progress made by the regime in implementing its programmes and projects. It is here that the Government needs to bring this awareness to the masses of the people especially those in rural and far flung areas of the country with minimal access. For this purpose and for the purpose of assuring the rural section that the regime did make the input, the Union Ministry devised a programme called Mass Outreach Programme. Its aim and its methodology both are simple. The aim is to bring awareness to the masses of the people especially of rural areas of what achievements have been made during past three years and how these have impacted the nation. For this purpose, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting decided to make financial allocations to 300 districts and town to run this programme through National Film Development Corporation. A communiqué specifying the programme was sent to the concerned States to make this programme operative from May 23 to June 11, 2017.
Now, if this communiqué gets bogged with bureaucratic insensitivity and the authorities in our State give it mundane treatment and ultimately let time run out, to whose detriment does this carelessness end up with. The impression which the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Government of India will gather is that the State Government is not interested in becoming partisan in national information outreach. It is a reflection on the State Government and something that will not help enhancing its credibility. It is a national loss and those who are at the helm of affairs must realize that they are first the part and parcel of the nation and then holders of authority or policy planners. The nation comes before everything else.
The loss resulting from meting out non-serious treatment to the communiqué of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as a result of which the Rural Outreach Programme turned impotent for the five districts of Udhampur, Jammu, Doda, Rajouri and Kishtwar is a loss to the vast population of Jammu region about the flagship projects that are in progress. The people have a right to information and it is this right that helps them to decide how they would behave in the next general election. The State Government must understand it is holding some important information from the public for which they have a right to know and for knowing which the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has provided the means and wherewithal.
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