Hello,

Indians are used to speeches by politicians and their grand but unreliable promises. You remember, Narendra Modi during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign, said each Indian would receive Rs 15 lakh when black money stashed abroad is brought back. Except for the ridicule that still comes his way, Modi can’t be held accountable for bluffing.

But if Modi had given the speech inside the walls of Parliament, a team of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha officials that meticulously reviews every word of ministers’ speeches, would jot down the promise of money as an assurance. Then the Committee on Government Assurances, comprising parliamentarians handpicked by the chair, will ask the Prime Minister for a status update of the progress made on the assurances, along with evidence.

Either the government will have to fulfil the assurance or convince the committee to drop the assurance explaining why it can’t.

For democracy to function, for the elected to be answerable to citizens, pledges made by the government in Parliament should hold a sacred weight, upheld by mechanisms ensuring government accountability. But, do they?

The Reporters’ Collective has launched a new series to investigate thousands of assurances made by ministers of the Narendra Modi government over the past five years in Parliament and their outcomes because we promised our readers to hold the powerful accountable.

Our investigative series, "Parliament Defied," delves into these parliamentary promises, examining their outcomes. Through an exhaustive analysis of over 100 parliamentary reports spanning thousands of pages and covering 55 ministries over five years, our reporters reveal the stark reality of government assurances.
‍

First of the Series: Escape Hatch for the Adani Group

In the first part of the series, we looked at the assurances given by the different ministries of the Union government in response to questions by parliamentarians on investigating alleged scams by the Adani group and other corporations.

Over the last nine years, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government assured Parliament at least seven times that it was investigating alleged scams by the Adani group and other corporations. Several ministries of the government committed that they would share the status and result of the investigations with citizens through Parliament.

The investigation found that when public attention faded, media shifted focus, and assurances did their job of placating the opposition’s fury in debates, the Union government quietly worked to backtrack on its promises, and escape Parliament scrutiny.

Over the next few days, we will be releasing stories on such broken assurances. Click here to read the first story.

If you want to get our investigations on your phone when they are out, you can join our WhatsApp Channel: https://t.co/c8DioTmqg3

‍

We Need Your Support.

In the past three years, The Reporters’ Collective uncovered some of the biggest cases of systemic corruption, denial of rights of citizens and misgovernance. We tried to hold the powerful accountable.
But to continue doing what big media houses won't do for you, we need your financial support as we don't publish advertisements.
We need a minimum of Rs 5 lakh a month. Your donations are our oxygen. We will not survive long without your donations, Click on the donate button below to know us more and support.

I would like to contribute

For Donations less than Rs.50,000

For Donations above Rs. 50,000

Please select an amount

Only Indian citizens can donate to The Reporters' Collective.
You can change how much you give or cancel your contributions at any time.
‍
By proceeding, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions. To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy.

Investigative series: Parliament Defied

We Need Your Support.

Join the TRC newsletter.