Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan 's several achievements, accomplishments and awards.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan is a physician by training who went into the Indian Administrative Service in the aftermath of the Emergency and failure of the Janata Experiment. He was a topper in the IAS exam. During the 16 years of distinguished public service in various capacities, he acquired a formidable reputation in the State of Andhra Pradesh.

Some of his major accomplishments while in government

• As Joint Collector, he worked for the speedy rehabilitation of 8000 youth from displaced families of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
• As Collector of Prakasm of District, he was instrumental in the creation of a record 2,00,000 acres of irrigation , the largest such program with direct participation of people
• As Collector of East Godavari District, he spearheaded the reconstruction of drainage and irrigation network in Krishna and Godavari deltas.
• He served as Secretary to both Governor and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
• He worked on strengthening of the credit cooperatives and making them independent of government control.

His other accomplishments include several major policy initiatives, including

• empowerment of parents in schools
• speedy justice through rural courts
• economic reform and restructuring of AP
• development of the Infocity in Hyderabad
• the much-acclaimed law for self reliant cooperatives (1995)
• empowerment of local governments and stakeholders

In spite of an impressive personal achievement, Dr Narayan's experience in government convinced him that faulty governance process was the biggest hurdle to India and Indians achieving greater success. And what India needs today is a fundamental change in the rules of the game and not a periodic change of players.

In order to translate his vision into practical reality, he resigned from Service (IAS) in 1996, and worked with like-minded colleagues for the formation of Lok Satta and is currently its National Coordinator. Lok Satta has now emerged as India is leading civil society initiative for governance reforms. It has wide reach, name recognition, credibility and passive support of about 20% of the population of Andhra Pradesh. Lok Satta is now building alliances across India. State-level initiatives are encouraged based on Lok Satta's experience. These initiatives in a few major states will then build a common platform for national effort for governance reform. Lok Satta is primarily focusing on Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa and Gujarat in this quest for building a national platform.

Dr. Narayan has been felicitated with several laurels.

In 2002

• Honored with the "Rotary Manav Seva Award 2002" for his crusade against corruption
• awarded the "Yudhvir Memorial Award 2002" for his outstanding contribution to the cause of good governance.

In 2003

• Awarded the "Dr.Rustam D.Ranji Rotary Award" by Rotary Club of India, September.

In 2004

• Awarded the "D. Ch.Tirupathi Raju Memorial Award 2004" in appreciation of his vision in terms of identifying the need of establishing a people's forum like Lok Satta and further developmental work done by it to bring in sustainable measures in the area of democratic governance, July.
• Honored with prestigious "Dr.Pinnamaneni Sita Devi Foundation Award", December.

In 2005

• Honored with the "Bharat Asmita Jana Jagran Shreshta" - a Bharat Asmita National Award by MIT School of Management, Pune in recognition as the best performer in the area of Public Awakening, February.
• Felicitated by the Hyderabad Software Exporters Association, Hyderabad in recognition for his contribution to the growth of IT industry in Andhra Pradesh and his efforts towards ushering democratic reforms in the country, February.

Dr Jayaprakash Narayan has served on the following panels

• The National Advisory Council (NAC) constituted by the United Progressive Alliance government to advise the government on the implementation of the National Common Minimum Programme, July 2004-August 2006.
• Vigilance Advisory Council constituted by the Central Vigilance Commission, November,2004.
• Second Administrative Reforms Commission constituted by the Government of India under the Chairmanship of Veerappa Moily, September 2005.

Time to end beti maro - Article in The Times of India Authored by Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan.

National Coordinator of VOTEINDIA movement

The recent release of data on religions by Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India has kicked off a debate on growth rates of religions in India. There are quite a large number of 'experts' who are indulging in hairsplitting analysis of behavioral/attitudinal differences towards birth control among the members practicing different religions in India. However, most of us have failed to notice that there seems to be a common bond that unites people of India with reference to their attitude towards the girl child i.e., to kill them. This tragic unity of purpose in killing a girl child in this remarkably diverse land demonstrates the strength of obnoxious social values that are perpetuating Beti Maro (Kill the Girl) syndrome. It has been more than a decade since Amartya Sen referred to 100 million missing women - a missing woman is one who should have been alive but is not - due to family neglect and discrimination.

The recent estimates suggest that India accounts for more than half of these missing women. The Census of India 2001 data also shows similar and disturbing patterns in the sex ratios in India. India has 933 women for every thousand men, which is appallingly low when compared with our poor South Asian neighbor Bangladesh (953), and our bete noire, Pakistan (938). If we go little more into details, we will see the devil in all its demonic proportions. Among the states, Haryana has the lowest sex ratio of 861 followed by Punjab at 874. Punjab's sex ration among 0 - 6 years population is the lowest at 793!! It is not merely Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (BIMARU), which have low sex ratios; it is the economically prosperous regions of Punjab and Haryana (820), and urban centers such as Chandigarh (845) and Delhi (865) that have abysmally low sex ratios among 0-6 years population, even in relation to BIMARU states. All this demonstrates that economic prosperity, education and urbanization will not automatically result in gender equality. For instance, Monica Dasgupta with data from Punjab, shows that second and subsequent girls "experience 32 per cent higher mortality than their siblings if their mothers are uneducated, but this gap jumps to 136 per cent if their mothers are educated." Urbanization has resulted in easy availability of medical technology such as sex determination tests which prompt foeticide. In States such as Tamil Nadu, the problem of female infanticide has come to light in glaring proportions. It is estimated that, in Tamil Nadu, 16 newborn girls out of every 1000 are victims of female infanticide. The UN Hunger Task Force statistics states that, due to malnutrition, neglect and absence of timely health care facilities, girls are 43% more likely to die than boys between ages one and five. How can we address this situation? We must see to it that the laws pertaining to feticide, female infanticide and dowry are implemented in letter and spirit. An intensive information, communication and education campaign must be launched on gender equality. Communication campaigns can be made effective by observing certain peculiar features that characterize information flow. Here, the idea of focal households becomes important. These are those households in village/small towns whose decisions in everyday life affect and are mimicked by other households. The State can save much effort (monetary and otherwise) by approaching and convincing through various incentives, so that they agree to propagate the government's ideas with regard to preference for the girl child, which would help turn the sex ratio around to acceptable levels. There is also a necessity of bringing in an incentive structure for protecting the girl child. The governments must encourage setting up of activities, which are intensive in labor by young women. Government must also credibly commit that it would provide the complementary inputs to these activities at a economical rate in the agricultural lean seasons. This scheme would make the value of having women in the household immediately obvious. The government could welcome private sector investment in these small-scale activities. Insurance schemes could also be offered to women in these activities. This would mean that not only are women earning members in the household, but they are net earners, as their health and other costs have been insured for. These are but initial steps. We all should deliberate and come up with a mission statement and a plan of action. Ultimately, social ills cannot be cured by legislation and state action alone. All of us need to introspect and reshape our attitudes towards women. Nothing short of a great social movement would do. The spiritual leaders and opinion makers have an important role and obligation in this mission of civilizing our society. It is only through concerted and collective efforts that we can combat this scourge of missing women. ***

An interview with Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Campaigning Coordinator, Lok Satta.

Campagining Coordinator, Lok Satta	Without a strong civil society and continuous monitoring in addition to citizen activism, a democracy cannot survive, opines Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, the campaigning co-ordinator of voluntary organization Lok Satta that works in the governance reforms sector. Jayaprakash, popularly known as JP, too, was strongly affected by the infamous 1975 national emergency, just like the great opponent of the emergency Jayaprakash Narayan who gave a clarion call for total revolution. A 1980-batch IAS officer, Jayaprakash, however, quit his job late in 1996 following a highly impressive track record. What is special about Jayaprakash is that he left his IAS job not because he was disenchanted or disillusioned. On the other hand, he
had a highly distinguished as well as eventful 16-year-long career in the government. Highly respected in the state for his result-oriented administration, Jayaprakash, an optimistic individual, here, talks about the efficacy of reforms in the governance in an exclusive chat with khojhyderabad.com. Excerpts from the interview: Q. What are the major loopholes in our system? A. Well the fact of the matter is that there are rational, practical and sensible answers to these problems but for strange reasons they are not being attempted. It is sad that day-to-day survival has become so vital for both our bureaucrats and politicians that real issues of democracy have become quite irrelevant for them. For example look at school education. The higher authorities in charge of school education get so bogged down by issues like holding examinations in time and leakage of papers that there is hardly any time left for them to think over necessary institutional changes to set the house in order. And there is no doubt that the system has collapsed. Recently when the Indian Medical Council team paid a visit to certify private medical colleges, doctors were hired from different hospitals to pose as teachers. Q. What are the major obstacles to implementation of reforms in governance? A. There is this vested interest group comprising both corrupt politicians and bureaucrats that does not want the status quo to go. They are the ones who resist reforms most. Here the civil society has a great role to play. It has to be both collective and assertive and demand for reforms. Q. What is exactly the status of Lok Satta? What is its real mission? A. Technically you can call it a voluntary organization or even a NGO. But right now it is a movement. That apart, it is a professional body, which is developing and spreading knowledge in the sector of governance. Our message to common people is to assert collectively with knowledge. Through our concerted efforts we try to make the government agree for reforms. Q. This idea of a civil society is an American concept that has become quite relevant in a post-industrial society. A. Yes, civil society was an obsession in America even hundred years before. Americans are usually members of one association or another. Even Alexi de Tocqueville observed the same 150 years ago. According to him, not only Americans are joiners, but they tend to belong to more political groups than do people of other countries. So in my opinion, the civil society was much more vibrant in US a hundred years back compared to now. Now the system has become efficient and a lot of economic opportunities are available for individuals. So naturally the role of civil society in US has become less active compared to earlier era’s. Q. Could you elaborate on your decision to quit civil services? A. I joined the civil service because that was the only option for guys like us that time. Politics as an option because of overplay of money and muscle was completely ruled out. But my decision to quit was not due to the fact that I was frustrated or disillusioned. I was enjoying my time as a civil servant or else I could not have achieved the results which are exceptional by any standard. As a collector when I implemented government programs my deliverance was the best in the state. But I always had a strong notion of public service. What drew people close to me was my approach. I sincerely believed that I am their servant and that too in a messy country. Moreover, all through my stint as a bureaucrat I never took any nonsense form any body including the politicians. But after being in the IAS for couple of years I more or less decided to quit. It was just a matter of time. And timing depends upon circumstance. The choice was between staying inside the system and trying for reforms or challenge the system and force the government to go for reforms. I chose the later. Civil service was an option by default. It was certainly not a career option for me. Q. Did you join the services with a lot of expectation to change things? A.Change is a political issue. That apart, it was the 1975 emergency that changed my perspective about the country dramatically. Like millions of other Indians emergency was a defining moment in my life. I had pinned a lot of hopes on the 1977 non-Congress experiment at the center. But when that experiment failed I felt quite disillusioned. It left me really embittered and subsequently I joined the services. Like me a whole generation of Indians have been conditioned by the events of 1975 emergency. Q.Why did the experiment fail in 1977? A.At that time the socialist mindset pervaded the mental horizon. There was no clarity regarding what specific role the government has to play. To further compound the problem, Indira Gandhi became their major obsession. As far as JP’s call for total revolution was concerned, it was just a concept. Here also there was no clarity. Q. Are you a staunch admirer of the late Jayaprakash Narayan? A. Yes I admired him a lot. Millions of Indians admire JP. Q. Why was the 1975 emergency such a forgotten chapter as far as popular memory is concerned? A. We Indians do not have a strong sense of history. We do not bother about truth. For us there is no single truth but several truths. It is correct that the individual rights during emergency came under great peril but the subsequent governments were not any better either. So there is not much reference to the excesses during that time. But emergency still haunts a whole generation particularly those who were in their late teens during that time. Q. Can you sum up the core activities of Lok Satta? A. Our two main areas of activities are citizen activism and advocacy for reforms. We have a charter called `People’s Watch. It mobilizes people to fight against mal-administration and corruption and also make them press for better services. We train young people to mobilize public opinion on such kind of issues. Across the state we now have a brand image. That apart, we also train the rural youth about the system. We have something called `People' Charter which serves as a knowledge capsule for people about essential public services. For example, if someone wants a birth certificate our capsule shows him the way. Otherwise these people would lose their identity in the corridors of a corrupt bureaucracy. Because of our initiative, now there are citizen charters in nine government departments’s which are dealing with basic services. Q. Has your campaign yielded any concrete results so far? A. Oh! Definitely. Because of our campaign now the meters at petrol filling stations in the city have been set right. To verify the fuel content we simply shed our inhibitions one day and thronged the fuel stations with our pre-measured cans. Our verification revealed that there was a considerable discrepancy. Now the government has woken up to the issue. In another incident, our Kukatpally unit scuttled the bid of corrupt officials. In Bhagyanagr colony at the same locality, municipality approval for several thousands house plans was not coming through. In fact, out of a total of 8000 house plans only 1500 were cleared quite arbitrarily without any order. When our unit took up the issue, the government was forced to bring in regularity into the whole process. Even the bribe money, which had been paid by some, in exchange of favour, has been refunded. Schemes like toilets for 1 million households and parents committee in government-run schools were due to our pressure. We are also partially responsible for farmers committee for irrigation. Q. What are your other activities aimed at ensuring smooth functioning of a democracy? A. We are for people’s monitoring of elections. This includes a whole range of activities. Our objective is to acquire insight into the electoral process. At the same time the effort is to make suggestion for electoral reforms. Q. What about your future agenda? A. We are working on the right to information issue. And soon it will be materialized. Right to information is basically a poor people's issue even though they may not understand the expression. Q.What are the basic problems of governance in AP? A. Look there has been a deterioration in our status.Fifteen years back AP used to be one of the leading states in the country. Now the governance is highly centralized. The industrial infrastructure is not adequate which is in fact keeping the prospective investors away from AP. The literacy is also a trouble area, which is among the lowest. Corruption has also crept into the system. Q. What is your view about the coming years. Would there be any real reforms? A. I am optimistic about reforms. India has a large chunk of young population. That apart, people want social change. This system is unsustainable. The greatest thing that has happened in the recent past is access to technology for mass communications. Nobody likes status quo now. Governments are going bankrupt. Without fundamental reforms, even a Prime Minister cannot make a difference. Reforms hold the key to good governance.

Lok Satta to focus on rural areas

Party determined to enhance its vote share, says Jayaprakash Narayan

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The greatest challenge before the party is to turn the support base into votes

Just because I am a lone voice, I am not going to keep silent: Jayaprakash Narayan

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HYDERABAD: Lok Satta Party president Jayaprakash Narayan who will be the lone voice representing his party’s philosophy in the new Legislative Assembly has no illusions that he can transform politics overnight.

“As a legislator, my role may be limited but as a political party we have a formidable task of building up organisational base even in rural areas which we could not do,” Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said.

Electorally, Lok Satta may be small but it has huge potential support base across the State. The greatest challenge before the party is to turn the support base into votes and give confidence to rural voters that voting for LSP would not invite retribution from others.

To create the interface between the citizens and the State, citizen centres would be established in each constituency to begin with, he told The Hindu.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said as legislator he would have an extra edge to address issues in his constituency and the State. “Just because I am a lone voice, I am not going to keep silent. Lok Satta, as an NGO and political party later, always made itself heard,” he said. His effort would be to bring in policy changes by discussing his ideas and engaging others as Lok Satta does not have enough numbers in the Assembly.

As any people-centric policy would also bring in political dividends for everyone, the talent would be in the art of negotiating. He said with middle class owning Lok Satta, media houses too would eventually give the party its due but the challenge would be to attract good leaders.

Immediate priorities

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan said his immediate priorities would be to improve basic amenities, drinking water, sewage and provide institutional plan for education and health care if the government was willing and work for empowering people in Kukatpally and replicating it elsewhere.

Slum-dwellers may tilt the scales here

For thousands in this constituency, ‘Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan’ is the issue of foremost concern

HYDERABAD: Should a new person be elected to represent us or we keep the faith on the tried and tested one?

This dilemma will surely haunt voters in the newly carved Jubilee Hills constituency, formed after delimitation, in this election. For the thousands of slum-dwellers in this constituency, ‘Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan’ still continues to be an issue of foremost concern.

Families in the hutments of Borabanda, Rehmatnagar, Karmikanagar and Vaddera Basthi in this constituency yearn for improved facilities in basic amenities, education and living conditions. Residents in the highly educated upper middle class localities like Srinagar Colony have social security and jobs on their mind.

Advantage Vishnu?

With poll campaigning by the Grand Alliance of TDP, TRS and Left parties and Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam yet to begin, the Congress workers believe that they have a head start with P.Janardhan Reddy’s son Vishnuvardhan Reddy being chosen by the party high command. Electors here are yet to personally meet Humayun, whose name was announced by Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi.

With Greater Hyderabad Telugu Desam Party president K. Vijayrama Rao reportedly preferring to contest from Khairatabad, residents are yet to get a clear picture about the candidate from the Grand Alliance. Parts of the constituency are already witnessing campaigning by supporters of Mr. Vishnuvardhan Reddy.

The perception that this constituency has less voter turnout could change this time due to the presence of large number of voters from slums. The late P. Janardhan Reddy still has a big reputation here and this could translate into votes for his son.

Lok Satta confident

However, Lok Satta candidate G. Pratibha Rao hopes to put up a good fight. “We are asking public to vote for change. We have good support from the middle class. We were second in the Khairatabad by-polls and we will improve on it. We are disappointed that large number of middle class families are yet to get EPIC cards,” she said.

Lok Satta Movement is People power, Vote Mumbai - Campaign for Urban Development Reforms.

What is VOTEMUMBAI?
VOTEMUMBAI is a non-partisan people's campaign comprising of concerned individuals and civil society organizations across Mumbai & the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Its objective is to make citizens realize the need for systemic reforms and bring about a significant improvement in the existing Municipal governance system by overcoming the current crisis in governance. VOTEMUMBAI provides the necessary platform and effective tools for citizen participation. Anyone who believes that status quo is not acceptable and change is possible can join the movement. VOTEMUMBAI has no affiliation to any political party.
Aims of VOTEMUMBAI
We, Mumbaikars have become weary of the innumerable problems of this city. We neither have a say in local issues that affect us personally nor do we have an elected representative who can exercise executive powers. VOTEMUMBAI aims at reforming this system of governance so as to bring the true essence of democracy to us, the sovereigns of the country. It propagates:
1	Empowerment of Local Govt. and democracy at this tier (Level): A directly elected, fully empowered Mayor gives a voice to the citizens on how they should be governed.
2	Decentralisation and Democratisation of Local Government: Corporator chaired Ward Committees with executive powers and Area Sabhas that monitor activities addressing these issues.
3	Accountable (to citizen) & Transparent Local Government: Direct elections of Mayor and checks and balances to resolve these qualms.
4	Local Self Government through legitimate citizen participatory platforms: Taking democracy to its grassroots through Ward Committees and Area Sabha where participation is rewarded with results.
VOTEMUMBAI plans to drive its agenda forward with focussed data and research based activities using consultative and deliberative processes. An in depth study of existing laws, the current system, changes required, checks and balances, systems existing in other cities etc have been conducted with the help of international consultants, experts on urban governance in the country and public consultation while drawing up an action plan.
Why VOTEMUMBAI?
At the heart of any healthy democracy are its citizens. Yet in our country, all too often, the ordinary citizen seems disempowered and marginal, with little recourse to rights and institutional support. The legal channels are long, tortuous and cumbersome, with little hope of justice unless one has both money and influence. The ordinary citizen is therefore left feeling cynical and alienated in this democratic monolith. Ironically, even politicians - supposedly the drivers of the democratic engine - more often than not get lost, taking to power and corruption rather than public good. In fact the system has become a kind of spider's web in which those on the outside neither want to nor can they get inside and those on the inside don't seem to know how to get out. And each group watches the other with undisguised suspicion.
Yet we have so much to be proud of. Despite all the ills of democracy, the spirit of freedom is strong and robust in our country. More than half of our population is young, energetic and looking for opportunities to excel and improve the lot of their people. Many individuals and organizations across the length and breadth of the country are unsung heroes doing whatever they can to better the lives of those around them. Millions living abroad - moved perhaps by nostalgia or the spirit of service - wish to give back a little to the country they call their own. By identifying some of the root causes of Mumbai Municipal governance problems, VOTEMUMBAI attempts to bring together all these people and individuals on a common platform of action. Can we not all come together to become one strong, forceful voice of change rather than being disparate, often conflicting whistles in the dark? The idea behind VOTEMUMBAI is just that. So let us come together, join hands and drive the change. The city is rotting; it is time to set it right.

Lok Satta founder, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayana bags Yudhvir Award.

Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan,

Lok Satta founder bags Yudhvir Award

Hyderabad: Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan, the founder of Lok Satta has been conferred with the Yudhvir award in recognition of his crusade against corruption in all levels of the society.The award was presented to him by Governor C.Rangarajan at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium at King Koti on April 30th. Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan is a physician by training, a public servant by choice, and a democrat by conviction. He joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1980 in the aftermath of Emergency and the failure of the Janata Experiment.

During his nearly 17 years of distinguished public service in various capacities, he acquired a formidable reputation in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Rehabilitation of 8000 youth from displaced families of Visakahapatnam Steel Plant, Creation of a record 2,00,000 of irrigation through people's participation, designing the reconstruction of drainage and irrigation network in Krishna and Godavari deltas, strengthening the credit cooperatives and making them independent of government control, and several major policy initiatives including empowerment of parents in schools, speedy justice through rural courts, economic reform and restructuring of Andhra Pradesh, developing the Infocity in Hyderabad, and empowerment of local governments and stake holders are among his outstanding accomplishments in Andhra Pradesh. Among other things, he served as Secretary to both Governor and Chief Minister. Dr. Narayan's experience in government fully convinced him that what India needs to day is not merely periodic change of players, but a fundamental change in the rules of the game. In order to translate his vision into practical reality, he resigned from the Indian Administration Service (IAS) from the post of Secretary to the government in 1996, and worked with like-minded colleagues for the formation of Lok Satta and is currently its Campaign Coordinator. Lok Satta, an NGO headquartered in Hyderabad, is dedicated to creating a suitable environment for all Indians to realize their maximum positive potential through comprehensive reforms in the Indian governance. Lok Satta with over a lakh volunteers is fighting for electoral reforms.

Another JP in search of a movement

JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN

PARTY: Lok Satta

CONSTITUENCY: Kukatpally

STATE: Andhra Pradesh

MISSION STATEMENT: To usher in a new politics for a new generation

He popularised the slogans ‘Vote for change’ and ‘Social justice’ in Andhra Pradesh to expose what he calls the failure of political parties to change people’s lives even after decades of governance.

Ten years on, they have become catchwords for almost all parties. Is he happy with the impact he has had? “Words without soul will not carry far,” quips Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, the founder of Lok Satta (Peoples Power) movement, a civil society initiative, and now the president of the Lok Satta Party.

The Lok Satta is contesting a majority of the 294 Assembly and all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh. Educated, middle class candidates have enthusiastically come forward to fight the elections under the Lok Satta banner. Where there is more than one ‘capable aspirant,’ the party holds an internal poll to choose the candidate. Jayaprakash Narayan, 56, is himself contesting from the Kukatpally Assembly seat in Hyderabad.

JP, as he is popularly known, is a physician turned IAS officer, who quit the service and turned to political activism to realise the ideal of a genuine democracy where every individual is empowered with equal opportunities. When N. T. Rama Rao was unseated in 1995, JP was the Secretary to the Chief Minister.

On his decision to resign from the Indian Administrative Service, he says, “While my 16-year stint helped me do my bit for the people, I realised that there were too many hurdles to change governance.” In its bid to usher in clean governance, the Lok Satta has campaigned for electoral and legal reforms, right to information and establishment of a national rural health mission. He is aware of how difficult it is to change the system. “Electoral politics only brings about a change of players, not a change in the rules of the game. Without an effective alternative, there won’t be any change,” he says.

JP’s campaign style is very different from that of traditional parties.

Recently, he travelled second class in the Tirupathi-bound Krishna Express from Hyderabad to Nellore “to take politics to the people.” Dozens of people waited at various stations along the way to express their solidarity.

But just what is the LSP agenda? To usher in a new politics for a new generation through a silent revolution, resist criminalisation of politics and stop treating people as vote banks, he says. “Traditional parties want to perpetuate poverty and make people eternally dependent on them.”

Source : The Hindu.

Dr. Jaiprakash Narayan as a civil servant and founder of Lok Satta Party.

Dr.Jaiprakash Narayan,

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan is a physician by training, a public servant by choice and a democrat by conviction. Jayaprakash Narayan the physician went into the Indian Administrative Service in the aftermath of the Emergency and failure of the Janata Experiment. He was a topper in the IAS exam. During the 16 years of distinguished public service in various capacities, he acquired a formidable reputation in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Some milestones as a civil servant: • As a young Joint Collector he trained and ensured permanent gainful employment to 8000 youth from displaced families of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. • In a short span of 2 ½ years , as Collector of Prakasam District, he successfully mobilized the farmers on a large scale to take up minor irrigation schemes. A record two lakh acres came under irrigation, 100000 farmers benefited, and all at a relatively low cost of Rs 2000 per acre. It was the largest such program with direct participation of people and this achievement has not been matched to date. • In the large and complex District of East Godavari, he spearheaded the reconstruction of drainage and irrigation network in Krishna and Godavari deltas. • He worked to strengthen the credit cooperatives by making them independent of government control. • He served as Secretary to both Governor and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. • He had several major policy initiatives to his credit: such as empowerment of parents in schools, economic reform and restructuring of AP, development of the Infocity in Hyderabad, and empowerment of local governments and stakeholders. Founding of Lok Satta In spite of an impressive personal achievement, Dr Narayan's experience in government convinced him that faulty governance process was the biggest hurdle to India and Indians achieving greater success. At the same time he recognizes the primacy of the political process and strongly believes that what India needs today is a fundamental change in the rules of the game and not a periodic change of players. In order to translate his vision into practical reality, he resigned from Service (IAS) in 1996, and worked with like-minded colleagues for the formation of Lok Satta and is currently its National Coordinator . After 7 1/2 years of tireless effort, Lok Satta is now India's leading civil society initiative in the field of governance reforms. It has a wide reach, name recognition and credibility and enjoys the support of about 30 – 40% of the population of Andhra Pradesh. Lok Satta's Goals • Comprehensive Electoral Reforms • Empowerment of Local Governments • Instruments of Accountability • Speedy and efficient justice Lok Satta is engaged in a national campaign for political reforms. Towards that end it is working with several credible organizations across the country and is encouraging state-level initiatives which are based on Lok Satta's experience. Lok Satta is in the forefront of key initiatives like: • Disclosure of Candidate details, • Political funding reform, • Decriminalisation of politics, • Improvement of electoral registration, • Comprehensive judicial reforms including local courts, and national judicial commission, • Citizen's Charters

Shri Dr. Jayaprakash Narayana - Wikipedia profile.

Dr Jayaprakash Narayana
Place of birth:	Andhra Pradesh, India
Movement:	Lok Satta movement, vote India, vote Mumbai, combat corruption
Major organizations:	Lok Satta organisation, Lok Satta Party

Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan (Telugu: జయప్రకాష్ నారయణ్ ; 1953 - ), widely known as JP, is currently a MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) from Kukatpally constituency in Andhra Pradesh and the president of Lok Satta (party).^[1] He is also a former Indian public administrator, social reformer and columnist.^[2] He is well known for his role in bringing electoral reforms and for his columns on democracy in leading Indian daily newspapers.

Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Career[3] 2.1 Early career 2.2 Social reformer 2.3 Political career 2.4 2008 Byelections 2.5 2009 Elections 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External links

[edit]Early life

Jaya Prakash Narayan was born on Jan 14th, 1956 in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. He was raised in Maharashtra in the early years. He went to Telugu Medium government schools in Godavarru in Krishna District. He joined Andhra Loyola College in 1969 for his intermediate education. He obtained his medical degree from Guntur Medical college.

[edit]Career^[3]

[edit]Early career

Jayaprakash Narayan, is a physician, joined public administration after passing I.A.S. in 1980 standing all India second. He worked on agriculture, irrigation, technology and youth rehabilitation projects in various capacities in various districts of Andhra Pradesh. He had an eventful 16-year-long career in the government. Some of his achievements include:

• Rehabilitation of 8000 youth from displaced families of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
• Designing the reconstruction of drainage and irrigation network in Krishna and Godavari deltas.
• Strengthening the credit cooperatives and making them independent of government control.

Dr JP was involved in formulating major policy initiatives such as developing an Info‑City in Hyderabad to facilitate the growth of the software industry. Hi‑Tech City, which has grown into one of the most prominent IT hubs of India.

He also served on the following panels.

• The National Advisory Council (NAC) for the implementation of the National Common Minimum Programme
• Vigilance Advisory Council
• Second Administrative Reforms Commission constituted by the Government of India

[edit]Social reformer

In spite of achievements as Indian administration officer, Dr. JP’s experience in government convinced him that faulty governance process is the biggest hurdle in India’s path of progress. He resigned from the I.A.S in 1996, as he wanted to work on grass roots for good governance. ^[4][5]Jayaprakash, an optimistic individual, talks about the efficacy of reforms in the governance among several other issues on various platforms in educational and political institutes. He emphasizes that democracy is for the people, of the people and by the people.

[edit]Political career

Jayaprakash Narayan started Lok Satta Movement (means people power) in 1997 to educate citizens of India about voting, rights and government. Lok Satta, along with similar organizations worked on various activities like election reforms, police reforms and voter registration procedures. The movement initially started in Andhra Pradesh and later spread across the country, including Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and the Vote JUHU campaigns^[6]

He has also written columns in Indian news papers like Times of India, Economic Times, Financial Express, The Hindu and Eenadu. He also worked as Television host for political programs and election coverage shows.

He started the Lok Satta political party in 2006 with clean politics and good governance as the main agenda. While launching the political party, he stated that this party aimed to enrich the political scenario in India with its true spirit and felt that it would be considered as an alternative to any other political party, since it aimed to create a true and faithful political picture in India.

[edit]2008 Byelections

Lok Satta (party) contested in 2008 in the Assembly by-elections for the first time, and was able to secure second place in one of the four places (Khairatabad) it contested from. ^[7].

[edit]2009 Elections

His party, Lok Satta, contested again in the 249 Legislative Assembly seats in 2009 general elections. Jayaprakash Narayan himself contested from Kukatpally, and won with 15,000 votes majority over the nearest opponent. His victory is quoted as "the victory of people" as he won the election without distributing money or liquor. In his victory speech, he mentioned that his immediate priorities were improve basic amenities, drinking water, sewage and provide institutional plan for education and health care, if the government was willing and work for empowering people in Kukatpally and replicating it elsewhere.^[8]

[edit]Personal life

Jayapraksh Nararyan is married to Radha and they have a son and a daughter.

[edit]References

1. ^ http://www.loksatta.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=60
2. ^ http://www.loksatta.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=87&Itemid=60
3. ^ http://www.arc.gov.in/jp.htm
4. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/28/stories/2009032855451500.htm
5. ^ http://www.reachouthyderabad.com/newsmaker/nm81.htm
6. ^ Welcome to Vote Mumbai
7. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/24/stories/2009032457370200.htm
8. ^ http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/18/stories/2009051858830600.htm

[edit]External links

• Lok Satta website
• Combat Corruption movement
• Vote India movement
• Vote Mumbai movement
• Jaya Prakash Narayan blog
• Lok Satta Media
• Lok Satta movement and news paper articles
• Jaya Prakash Narayan Interview