New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party said Thursday it would give “absolute powers” to “gram sabhas” to look after schools, hospitals, civic amenities and infrastructure projects and equip them to take action against the corrupt in their areas.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said his party is committed to bringing all government employees from peons to Prime Ministers under the ambit of an anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill.
He said there would be a citizens’ charter for time-bound delivery of services and strict punishment for officials who don’t do their work in time.
Mr Kejriwal said his party will do away with the system of putting accused in police custody and will ensure that all interrogation is videographed.
He said refusal by the police to lodge an FIR will also be made a criminal offence. His party wanted lowering of the age at which candidates are eligible to contest polls from 25 to 21. The AAP said it would take effective steps to bring back black money stashed in foreign banks.
The party said it would explore methods to enforce public accountability and regulation of media. The manifesto said regulation should go hand-in-hand with freedom from interference from the state and political authority.
To give the police functional autonomy, the manifesto said the Supreme Court ruling on police reforms will be implemented. It said the police would have separate wings for law and order and investigation.
