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Is Public Accountability a Myth?
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Chandigarh, Nov 8: The concluding day of Literati 2015, the 3rd edition of Chandigarh Literary Society’s lit fest, the day began with animated discussion on the subject of accountability with former chief justice of Himachal Pradesh Justice Leila Seth, well-known journalist and columnist Tavleen Singh, with CLS chairperson and bureaucrat Sumita Misra moderating the session, “Is Public Accountability a Myth?
Leila Seth reiterated that the only solution to the crisis in public accountability is that every citizen must first become a good citizen, and honestly follow the laws of the land. She advised that the Preamble of the Constitution must be provided to every citizen who should carry it with them to understand their rights and duties.
She said that apathy in government functioning is the biggest culprit and if every officer is a good citizen, there won’t be lesser problems, though she admitted that lack of enough judges and mounting pending cases delaying justice.
Commenting on the media accountability, Tavleen Singh however said that the trend of the government doling out perks to the media people like free housing etc, comprises the objectivity of a journalist.
Despite the good intentions of RTI and RTE, Taveleen Singh said that RTI won’t be needed if the rules of operations are transparent and clear to ensure good governance, and even RTE, she said, was act of abdicated responsibility towards its government schools which could be run in much more efficient way.