Civil Society Forum presents its manifesto for upcoming elections

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

The Civil Society Forum presented key demands from its manifesto for the 2023 Assembly elections in front of representatives from different political parties. The demands revolved around urban governance, ensuring fundamental rights, labour and migrant issues, bonded labour, oppressed castes, environment and transportation among other things. These recommendations were jotted down after critical observation of the state over the last five years.

Historian Ramachandra Guha was invited to act as chairperson for the event. He spoke about how Indian democracy has been reduced to election-only democracy, a term he had coined seven years ago. Highlighting the importance of civil society organisations in nurturing a workable democracy, he expressed his gratitude to the Aam Aadmi Party, Community Party of India (Marxist), and Congress for being present, calling it “a gesture of solidarity, of interest and appreciation.” After the presentation of the key demands, the audience was given the opportunity to voice their demands as recommendations to the manifesto.

Some of these demands the rights of the youth community, education, women's safety, safeguarding the rights of those residing around forests, etc. Forum fails to include demands favoring sexual and gender minorities under key demands Akkai Padmashali criticized the forum for not including the rights of sexual minorities in their presentation of key demands.

She said, “We live in a somewhat majoritarian, totalitarian society where there are only men and women. Where are sexual minorities and sex workers communities? Sexual minorities and sex workers are not included here… Regardless of whether we were a part of the discussion or not, why were we left out? Participation becomes secondary.” The other members assured her that the rights of the community were included in the longer version of the Manifesto.

BJP and JD(S) representatives absent The representatives who showed up included Ashwin Mahesh from AAP, Dharmasena from CPI (M) and SY Gurushant from CPI(M), and R Dharmasena from KPCC. No representatives were sent by the BJP and JD(S) despite the Forum’s invitation. The absence of spokespersons representing these parties did not go unnoticed.

After stating her demands, Ms. Padmashali said that the absence of a BJP representative in the forum's event today shows their disrespect toward civil society organizations. She expressed her disappointment at the political unwillingness of national parties to show up in spite of repeated invitations. Guha also criticised the two parties that did not show up saying they did not want to be held accountable.

“My surmise is that the absence of the JD(S) is due to indifference, they couldn’t care. And the absence of the BJP is deliberate. They care about what we are doing and they don’t want us to do it,” he said. He said that being the ruling party in the state and in the centre, for BJP not, at the very least, to engage with civil society organisations and grassroots workers, who have decades of experience and who know the state and its problems intimately