The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : In pursuit of a system that will care for all

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Monday, Jan 22, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

In pursuit of a system that will care for all

Staff Reporter

Former Minister H.K. Patil's book, "Carving a caring system", was released on Sunday

LAUNCH: Governor T.N. Chaturvedi (right) with former Minister H.K. Patil (left), KPCC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge, former Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachaliah, at the release of Mr. Patil's book in Bangalore on Sunday. — Photo: K. Mu rali Kumar

Bangalore: "The book brilliantly sums up our responsibilities, duties and the problems that we face today," said Governor T.N. Chaturvedi.

He was speaking after releasing former Minister H.K. Patil's book, "Carving a caring system", here on Sunday.

He said that the book represented Mr. Patil's concern for the problems faced by the common man.

"A system is something manmade that is given legitimacy through law and several institutions. It is not right to blame the system as that becomes an alibi. No system is self-operating. If it has to be rectified, we all have to work towards that end," he said. He called for an awakening in civil society. The book had taken stock of the problems faced by the people and was aimed at nation building, he added.

M.N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India, who has written the foreword for the book, said that good governance was crucial for the survival of the country. He also said that "human rights should be the centre of all our institutions." He said that the previous generations had failed in the social sector and hoped that the future generation would take action to rectify the wrongs. "We need to fashion institutions and mechanisms for proper delivery of public services. For this, civil society should also participate. Mr. Patil has driven importance to all these issues," he said.

"Mr. Patil's work does not suit the political culture. He is far ahead of his time. He sees a glorious future for the country. We do not need emotional outbursts, just an inspection of details," he added.

M.P. Prakash, Minister for Home, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, said that every sentence in the book had a melancholic tone. He said that several vital issues had been discussed beautifully in the book.

He lamented that politicians lacked political will. "I am no exception. We all take action with the elections in mind," he said.

Former Minister and president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee M. Mallikarjun Kharge said that "we had a lot of rules and regulations in place. If man were born good, we would not have so many rules and regulations."

Citing an example, he said that even though untouchability had been prohibited, it was still practiced in several parts of the country. "Neither the people nor the politicians will take any action even if it happens in front of them. We lack the will to do so," he said.

He said that the book would be helpful for young politicians, as it offered simple and practical solutions to the problems faced by the people.

N. Dharam Singh, former Chief Minister, spoke about the importance of political and social commitment.

"The book offers solutions to our problems. For a wider reach, it should be translated into Kannada," he said.

Several judges of the High Court, former Ministers, MLAs, MLCs and party workers were present on the occasion.

Compilation

Bangalore Special Correspondent writes:

The book is a compilation of some of the speeches made by Mr. Patil on various platforms as a Minister in Congress Governments for over a decade. In his book, Mr. Patil has said that the need of the hour is to carve a caring system of governance which will govern with an aim to secure, preserve, protect and defend the rights of all sections, where the common man is perceived as sovereign and the governmental machinery and its officials as his servants.

Mr. Venkatachaliah, in the foreword, has said, "In the times of turbulence and turmoil that we see today, we can no longer handle issues of injustice by merely being clever. I recommend this work to all those who can read the writing on the wall."

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