AIZAWL, Sept 18 - Chances are that Mizoram will emulate the Kejriwal model in the 2018 Assembly elections as the State�s corruption watchdog Prism (People�s Right to Information & Development Implementing Society of Mizoram) is rolling up its sleeves for the battle two years ahead.
Though refusing to disclose that his organisation is planning to fight the elections, Prism president Vanlalruata told The Assam Tribune that it has decided to form a �shadow cabinet� in view of the 2018 polls. �I cannot say officially that we will fight elections. But we have decided to form a shadow cabinet, which we will do shortly. Our own political affairs committee will look into it and make the final roadmap,� he said.
Asked why the anti-corruption watchdog is mulling to fight elections, Vanlalruata said, �We have been trying to steer the government to the right path since the last eleven years, but we have failed. As we have failed to reform the government from the outside, we consider it�s time that we form our own government for the larger interest of the people.� He blamed both the ruling and the opposition parties of lacking real interest in trying to have corruption-free popular government that addresses the needs of the people.
Vanlalruata also claimed that there has been pressure from the public that his organisation fights the elections like political parties. �It�s a matter of time until we decide that whether or not we will face the challenge thrown upon us by the people,� he added.
�We will decide in due course whether to transform the organisation into a political party or our candidates fight the elections on independent tickets,� Vanlalruata said.
Prism, headquartered in the State capital Aizawl, has district headquarters in all the districts, except in Saiha and Lawngtlai. It has branches in 400 villages across Mizoram.
Formed in 2006, Prism today stands out as the sole crusader against corruption in Mizoram. It has made people to believe that no one, how powerful he or she could be, can escape the long hand of law.
Following Prism�s anti-corruption crusade, nearly 300 government officials in the State have been identified and will be charged with corruption cases. Many have been discharged from service, one jailed and others suspended.
Vanlalruata said his organisation has spent around Rs 20 lakh in its fight against corruption during the eleven years while preventing about Rs 1,800 crore public money from being siphoned off.
�We have helped 57 people from being illegally dropped in recruitment process while we have 39 cases of diverted money given back to the rightful shareholders. We have also helped 1,000 people in seeking information under the RTI Act,� Vanlalruata said.
�We have filed eight PILs with Gauhati High Court and 33 FIRs with State Anti-Corruption Bureau against misappropriation of public money so far,� Prism president said.
