Nidhi Prabha Tiwari is CEO at Democracy Connect, a Delhi based NGO that works directly with Members of Parliament (MPs), and party workers. Excerpts from an interview with Vinay Sitapati

•Many NGOs believe that politicians are part of the problem, and avoid dealing with them. But you directly work with MPs. How come?

I think all NGOs see a disconnect between people’s expectations and the priorities of politics. We are no different. But our understanding of the problem is possibly a bit nuanced. Political careers typically begin with politicians helping in resolving problems that people face in their day to day lives — accessing public services, settling disputes and benefitting from government schemes. These essentially require politicians to act as arbiters, negotiating with the Block Development Officer, Tehsildar and the police. Unfortunately, as they rise up the ranks to become, say, MPs, politicians don’t see that they now have a bigger role — as policy makers. They continue to practice the same kind of mohalla politics, undercutting into governance and creating personal fiefdoms. Changing that is half the solution.

•What is this “policy-making role” for MPs that you talk about? Isn’t corruption a bigger problem?

Of course there is corruption. But its not the only problem. Given the fact that policy making space is so centralised and constricted, politicians think their only role is to be as “powerful” as a district magistrate. Even we voters are part of the problem. We tend to approach politicians for fixing drains, but not for working out a coherent policy on urban management. This is the role that MPs should play, which many of them are unaware of — rule and policy making: the ability to see that the lack of drainage is linked to bigger problems, and formulating a coherent policy with regard to drainage. Schemes like MPLAD also push MPs towards playing an executive role.

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