The
Hindustan Times New Delhi
February 22, 1996
Parties
lack will on child, bonded labour issues
NEW
DELHI: Senior
political leaders are in search of political will to tackle
human problems like child and bonded labour. But where should
one look for the will, though they felt strongly about the
issues. Leaders of all the national political parties, barring
the BJP, were there to express solidarity with the cause and
with a firm assurance to get the issues added in their poll
manifestos. But in the end they questioned the effectiveness
of the political system which they strongly felt lacked both
will and direction.
On
where to look for the will to implement the plethora of laws
already existent for the eradication of these human problems,
the only answer they had was to invoke the conscious of the
people through building a movement. And on their part they
assured the functionaries of the citizens' commission on bonded
and child labour to get the same included in their party election
manifesto.
It
was a rather paradoxical situation. But at the end, the man
most satisfied was the commission's convener Swami Agnivesh,
who drew solace in having managed some kind of a commitment
from the representatives of these political parties, which included
the Congress, CPI-M,CPI and the Janata Dal.
For
some of them, it was soul searching which culminated in blaming
their own party set-ups for not having taken up the issues in
right earnest. For others, like AICC general secretary B.P.
Maurya, it was an emotive issue for he claimed having personally
undergone the ordeal of child bonded labour right from his birth
to his formative days. He ended up assuring that being a member
of the draft committee for the party's manifesto, he would do
everything to include it in the manifesto. "If I fail, I will
resign from the committee," he added.
It
is a national shame, they all opined, that this menace has existed
even 49 years after independence. But in the end, they added
that all leaders in their respective parties did not think alike
on such vital issues and hence pulled in different directions
when it came to framing laws and forcefully implementing the
same. Swami Agnivesh has collected all those leaders who
were emotionally attached to the issue. It would have been
better had some others also been involved to rouse their consciousness,
averred Janata Dal leader and former Labour Minister Ram Vilas
Paswan. He recounted how some plans initiated by him during
his theme as a Minister could not become a reality due to opposition
from within his own party.
The
system is not working properly. All leaders in the political
parties do not think alike. It is wrong to blame the bureaucracy.
They toe the line they are given by the political bosses, he
said while squarely blaming the political set up for having
lacked will in tackling problems like child and bonded labour.
These issues should be given top billing in the national agenda.
This section of the society has no voice of its own. All of
us should build a movement to make their voice effective.
As a first step the right to work should be made a fundamental
right. He exhorted the individual political leaders to forcefully
rake up the issue on their party fora. There is no reason that
the parties would not accept their pleas and arguments in this
connection, he added.
Mr.
Paswan also had a word of advice for the judiciary. It is praise
worthy that they have launched "one-sided" tirage against corruption.
It would help a great deal if they used their powers to ensure
implementation of laws in regard to child and bonded labour
and deal sternly with the violators.
Mr.
Maurya admitted that somewhere the system has faltered or the
direction was wrong. That is why the number of child and bonded
labourers has increased manifold since independence. This
freedom has no meaning if these problems touching humanity,
were not eradicated. These problems have not been tackled as
strongly as they should have been done.
Mr.
A.B. Vardhan, deputy general secretary, CPI, said that merely
drafting the laws or including the issue in the manifestos will
not help. Political will is direly needed to implement them.
He criticised the attempts made to categorise the industries
into hazardous and non-hazardous ones for the purpose of child
labour. Every industry is hazardous for the child. Citizens'
conscience will have to be awakened to send across this message.
Mr.
Hanan Maula, MP (CPI-M), reiterated that these issues should
be put on the agenda of the nation. The CPI-M was already engaged
in a battle against these issues and these have already figured
in the election manifestos also.
Earlier,
inaugurating the meeting organised by the commission to convince
the political parties in including these issues in their election
manifestos and show some commitment to work for their eradication,
its chairperson, Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer said that the political
parties should show commitment to liberate every child from
bonded labour. Their childhood could be saved only if there
is political will.