Prakash Ambedkar to administer oath to Shadow Cabinet

KOCHI: Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of B R Ambedkar - the architect of the Indian Constitution - will administer the oath to Shadow Cabinet, a form of social auditing practised in many democratic countries, which would be launched in Kochi on Saturday. According to those behind the movement, the Shadow Cabinet will function as the fifth estate which would help the government for better governance.

The oath-taking ceremony of the Shadow Cabinet will be held at Changapuzha Park in Kochi. "The Shadow Cabinet is a concept similar to the governing cabinet. The cabinet would be represented by the whole section of the society. There would reservation for the women. Even transgenders will also be represented," Anil Jose, co-ordinator of the project, said.

There has no space provided for the political parties in the Shadow Cabinet. "It's mostly the organisations involved in welfare activities associating with the project. Organisations like Gandhian Study Centre, Voters Alliance, Moozhikulam Sala, Human Wellness Study Centre, Gandhian Collective and Keraliyam extended their support," John Joseph, another co-ordinator of the Shadow Cabinet, said.

Similar to the number of ministers in the Kerala government, there will be 19 members in Shadow Cabinet as well. "We had selected around 40 prospective candidates to be made members of the cabinet. Currently, we have conducted 40 workshops for the candidates. For this 19 would be selected to lead the cabinet," Jose said.

The Shadow Cabinet would closely analysis the government policies and action. "The Shadow Cabinet would act as a response to the public over various policies and decisions taken by the government. It would help the public to fight against wrong policies of the government," John Joseph said.

There are Shadow Cabinets in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Malaysia which already received mass popularity.