Indian legislators keep away from online engagement

14% of the MPs who are online, none are officially so

GN Bureau | May 27, 2013



Osama Manzar, member of the working group for Internet proliferation and governance at the ministry of communication and information technology, writes in the Mint that elected representatives of the Indian people have negligible virtual presence. He cites the findings of a survey by the Digital Empowerment Foundation (Manzar is the founder of the organisation) and says that MPs, MLAs and panchayat representatives have largely kept away from any kind of online engagement with the people of their constituencies.

The survey found that only 80 out of 545 (14 percent) Lok Sabha members are online, more than the percentage of Indian citizens online. Only 15 states have their MPs online, and another 15 states have none. In the entire northeastern region, consisting of eight states, only one parliamentarian is online, Agatha Sangma from Meghalaya. Andhra Pradesh tops the list with 14 MPs online, followed by Uttar Pradesh (13), Maharashtra (10), Kerala (8), Karnataka (7), Bihar (4), West Bengal (4), Tamil Nadu (3), two each from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Uttarakhand and Orissa have only one MP online. The states having none of its MPs online are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
"The current Lok Sabha has the highest number of women MPs ever at 59, 14 more than the last House. But, only six women MPs are online.


While 86 percent of the MPs could not be found online, those who have web presence have done so as their personal endeavour. Almost all of them have their website on their personal names, either in the form of website or a blog," Manzar writes in a column in Mint.

"It is obvious that while 14% of the MPs who are online, none are officially so. It is important to note that while MPs or elected representatives come and go, the constituencies they represent remain. It is, therefore, critical that the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies decide that their constituencies should have online presence and the given MP or MLA is the caretaker of the website who should be made responsible to present the ins and outs of all that is happening in the constituency, including how they are spending their constituency fund and what questions are they asking in Parliament and assembly, among others. Besides, there should be a provision in the fund to allocate appropriate fund towards building, managing and updating the website, including web and other digital media as tools to interact with the electorate," he writes.
 
 

 

Comments

 

Other News

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter