By Vivek, Chandigarh, July 2: The standard of governance is falling in our country and citizens need to be made aware of the laws of the land so that they take up the cudgels to ensure accountability. This was the conclusion reached at a meeting of Lala Lajpat Rai Thinkers’ Forum on the topic ‘Role of Citizens in Good Governance’ held here today under the aegis of the Servants of People’s Society. Prof Manjt Singh of sociology department at Panjab University talked about the current debate related to Lokpal Bill and the confrontation between the civil society and the government. “The government is blaming the Anna Hazare team for trying to create a parallel government. A question needs to be asked that who created this vacuum for a parallel government. It’s because of widespread inefficiency and corruption in the country that the citizens have been forced to raise a voice,” he asserted. Eminent lawyer and consumer rights’ expert Mr Ajay Jagga talked about the need for citizens to be more vigilant of their government and work on grassroots level. “We need to monitor functioning of the government at each step and use the legal and administrative mechanisms to complain and ensure compliance,” he asserted. Manu Moudgil, the editor of GoI Monitor, a web magazine on analysis and investigations of government policies, talked about how citizen journalism can be a good tool to ensure accountability. Hemant Goswami, the convener of Lala Lajpat Rai Thinkers’ Forum, summarised the discussion.