Article
18.1 Oath of office
At present,
elected office bearers are required to take an oath of
allegiance to the Constitution and an oath of secrecy. After the
promulgation of this Constitution, all elected office bearers as
well as departmental heads appointed with the approval of the
various parliaments, shall be required to take a composite oath
of allegiance to the Constitution and transparency as below:
"I, (name of person) hereby solemnly affirm on oath (or
swear in the name of god) that I shall uphold the sovereignty
and integrity of India, and bow to the sovereignty of the people
of India. I shall faithfully abide by the Constitution and
discharge the duties entrusted to me without fear, favour or ill
will.
I further solemnly affirm (or swear in the name of god) that
except for information restricted by the society in public
interest, I shall ensure that citizens have access to all public
information under my control and the control of my
officials."
Article 18.2 Declaring assets and business interests
All persons
elected or appointed as chief executives, ministers,
legislators, councillors, judges and departmental heads at the
local, state and national levels shall file statements of assets
and business interests of self, spouse, parents and children
certified by a chartered accountant, in the parliament for which
he is elected or which approves his appointment. All such
statements shall be posted and updated on the website of the
concerned parliament for the information of the citizens.
Article 18.3
National flag and anthem
The national flag
belongs to the people. They can display it in any place or
manner at any time of day or night, except on their vehicles. It
may be flown on public buildings during the day, at half-mast
during state mourning, and on special days at night when a
public building is illuminated.
The national flag may normally be flown only on the vehicle of
the elected chief executive and deputy chief executive. During
special occasions, it may be flown on other vehicles as required
by protocol.
The armed or police forces can play the national anthem only on
special occasions as may be laid down by the government from
time to time. The citizens can play or sing it any time they
choose.
Article 18.4
Repentance Day
The Independence
Day, August 15, is a sad day of India since on this day India
was partitioned. The Republic Day, January 26, is also a sad day
of India since on this day the present anti-people Constitution
was adopted. Both August 15 and January 26 shall hereafter be
condoled as repentance days. The declaration of emergency and
other abuse are aberrations of anti-people colonial provisions
in the Constitution.
Article 18.5 Swaraj
Day
The people of
India shall hereafter celebrate the day on which this
Constitution is adopted and on which every man, women and child
of India acquires swaraj or self-rule, as Swaraj Day. Swaraj day
will be celebrated more at community level as a people programme
and by local governments, and less as a celebration by the state
and national governments. Appropriate monuments of Gram Swaraj
will be installed in villages.
Article 18.6 Non
Government Organisations
(1) During recent years,
civil society organisations called Non Government Organisations
(NGOs) in India have created a significant presence for
themselves in a wide range of activities, and have become a
significant institution of democracy. It is therefore necessary
to recognise it and establish parameters of ethics and public
accountability, largely through self-regulation.
(2) The councils
of stakeholders shall dwell on the role of NGOs, classify their
activities and formulate a code of ethics for them. Amongst
other things, the code of ethics can provide that an NGO shall
intimate its particulars and field of activity to the council
and every local government in which it plans to operate. It will
also submit to the concerned council and local government an
annual report of its activities and their impact.
(3) The code of
ethics can also provide that donors providing funding to NGOs or
the concerned local government may impose a condition that the
utilisation of the funds shall have to be certified by a
chartered accountant nominated by and paid for by the donor or
local government. This will protect the NGO from unjustified
criticism and facilitate proper execution of projects.
(4) A committee
of the concerned council of stakeholders shall deal with
complaints of and against NGOs. The effort will normally be an
amicable settlement of the complaint. In case serious misconduct
is established, the council may blacklist the NGO and/or report
the NGO to appropriate authorities for necessary action.
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Article 18.7
Government Holidays
In view of its rich
cultural environment, India has a tradition of numerous
religious and other holidays. This was all right so long as only
Sunday was the weekly holiday. However, after Saturday was also
made a weekly holiday, the total member of holidays have become
far too many. It has serious adverse effect on the productively
of the nation.
In a year there are 104 Saturdays and Sundays. There should at
most be three more holidays. As from the year following the year
this Constitution is adopted, the total number of holidays in a
year shall be 107. For religious or other holidays in excess,
equivalent number of holidays on Saturdays shall be reduced.
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