After fighting against crucial and grave issues like female feoticide, plight of rape victims and child abuse, this week Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan highlighted the scams that are plaguing our country. During the fourth episode of his TV show Satyamev Jayate 2, Aamir brought forth some facts as to how black money has spoiled the growth of our country at every stage. He also urged the youth to fight against corruption through his show.
Wealth of the nation: Currently, corruption and scams are one of the biggest problems that our country is fighting. From Coalgate to Common Wealth Games, India has witnessed a series of scams in the last few years. The money of the common man is involved in some way or the other in such scams. The actor with the help of statistics, data and a brilliant research showed how these malpractices can be fought at a personal level and at society level too. It also highlighted how despite of being rich in resources, majority of our country's population is poor.
How RTI is beneficial: One of the highlights during the episode was the importance of the RTI (Right to Information). Right to Information is a basic right of the citizens of this country. Unfortunately, most of us aren't aware of it. To shed more light on the topic Aamir welcomed prominent guest Shankar Singh of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. Shankar Singh stressed upon the impact of an RTI application that can be filed by any Indian citizen. He also said that if there is any delay in the response from the government official it will amount to a penalty of Rs. 250 per day. He also mentioned how Government plans are only subjected to papers and are never implemented in real-life. He ended the conversation with a few beautiful lines which stated the supremacy of the RTI, "Kaagaz mein sab kuch hain, kaagaz mein puri sarkar hain. Kaagaz se he chalti hai. Kaagaz bina kuch hai hee nahi.”
Importance of Public Services Grievances Bill and social audits: One of the other important tools to fight corruption are Public Services Grievances Bill and Social audit. Public Services Grievances Bill is an extension of the RTI which ensures that complaints are heard and acted upon. Aamir also welcomed another guest Somwya Kidambi of Society for Social Audits, accountability and transparency. Somwya encouraged the youth and said that there is still hope and all is not lost. She explained that though in a small way but today the youth is coming forward and is actively participating to fight against corruption. She further explained that social audits have helped fight against scams and corruption in many ways. She said nearly 3000 corrupt government officials have been terminated from their services and nearly 5000 disciplinary actions including suspension have taken against those who were found corrupt.
Eternal vigilance is the price of democracy: The story of Kerala Panchayati Raj was really motivating. The Kerala Panchayati Raj empowers each citizen of that region to decide the best use of Government funds in their Panchayat. One of the other guests on the show was social activist Aruna Roy who is hopeful that the youth of our country can bring a positive change to society. The fourth episode of the show was really an eye opener as it forced citizens to rethink on many issues. Aamir through this episode said that it should be our fundamental duty to correct the government when it is at fault. Aamir ended the show by saying that eternal vigilance is the price of democracy and instead of blaming the system, why don't we make the effort to make the system better. This can be done by the appropriate use of our valuable votes.
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