From: reportsny@aol.com
To: reportsny@aol.com
Sent: 1/14/2012 1:46:39 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: INDIA: Anna Hazare's war on Corruption-Foggy Road Ahead
Better
Newsletter India
NEW YORK
Mg. Editor: Ranjit Singh
Phone (718)359-3660—Fax: (718)359-0153
Email: betterindianews@aol.com Website: betterindianews.com
Newsletter #: 179
Dated: 01/13/12
In
India ANNA HAZARE'S
WAR ON CORRUPTION
Team Anna wants to make a Corruption-free
India
For Team Anna
Foggy Road Ahead
If they don't tread carefully,
the Jan Lok Pal Bill could be thrown into the dust bin of history.
(Ranjit Singh)
New York
01/09/12
Anna Hazare's war on corruption is at cross road. This is what IAC's icon, Arvind Kejriwal, has written or rather admitted in an article. This, also, seems to be the thinking of the core committee members.
There is a clear indicator of their fear and confusion. Seventeen of their 26 members met at the IAC's Ghaziabad office. They decided that they would not campaign against any political party in the five poll-bound states in January and February this year, by which they meant no campaigning against Congress, as they did in the Hissar by-polls. However, they failed to explain as to how they would take their anti-corruption movement forward.
Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan carried their collective views to the ailing leader, Anna Hazare, now convalescing at his village, Ralegaon Sidhi. Simultaneously, Medha patkar, a core committee member, in her TV message, conveyed their line of thinking to the people that with immediate effect they would abandon their strategies of "Anna's fasts unto death", as well as anti-Congress campaigns.
THREE MILESTONES: IAC has by now become a great movement. On a journey dotted with dangers and difficulties, they have covered three milestones. They have written and polished the Jan Lok Pal Bill, which they claim, will create an institution that will make India a corruption-free nation. They have rallied the youth, especially the middle classes, around it. With the three fasts undertaken by Anna Hazare, they have taken the war on corruption into the corridors of power. The debates, discussions and power battle in both houses of Parliament are the proofs that no political party, even if opposed to the bill, dares talk against the movement. They are only devising strategies to shape and pass a bill that does not hurt those amongst them who have looted the national wealth, with impunity. But unfortunately, this great peoples' movement seems to be floundering on the perception front, as well as on strategy front.
On the strategy front: IAC has been successful in spreading the perception that it is only the Jan Lok Pal Bill that can rid India of corruption. It struggled on this issue for whole of 2011. Through social media, press conferences, referendums and seminars, it explained the main features of the bill and popularized it among the people.
Anna Hazare forced the bill into the corridors of power. Prime Minister met his 4-member delegation of Swami Agnivesh, athlete Sunita Godara and Justice D S Tewatia led by him. A ministerial committee consisting of AK Antony-Moilly, Sibal and Narayan Swamy met Anna's delegation, where Anna Hazare demanded a joint committee of the ministers and India against Corruption to discuss their bill. The outcome was not pleasant. The ministers told the Anna Delegation that there demand was unconstitutional and without precedence. In retaliation, Anna sat on a fast unto death at Jantar Mantar, Delhi with effect from April 5, 2011. The result was a widespread publicity of the mission and bill of the India against Corruption, all over the world.
The IAC's Jan Lok Pal Bill reflects the spirit of the draft of the United Nations Convention against corruption, adapted to the Indian conditions. It will have a controlling body of 11 persons who would be independent of the government, in selection as well as authority. It would be known as Lok Pal, the anti-corruption wizards. With their lokayuktas in states and offices spread over, all over India, they would be accessible to every citizen and whistle blower, if they have any complaint of corruption against any public servant. These anti-corruption caretakers would also have the power to make investigations into the corruption cases, they learn su moto. The complaints of victims would not keep eating dust on the shelves of government offices, as they would not need government permission to investigate and sue the public officials.
This institution would have its own independent investigative and prosecution machinery, the anti-corruption wing of CBI. The whole process of justice would be put on fast track. The guilty will receive deterrent punishment to the extent of jail term and confiscation of assets to recover the loss, they have caused to the exchequer, while the honest victims and whistle-blowers would be duly rewarded. The IAC has been feeding us all with these perceptions.
PERCEPTION UNDER THREAT: The IAC's Jan Lok Pal Bill came under attack from a few politicians, pro-government politicians and a few arm-chair thinkers who faulted the bill on many points. They are on it till now. The most glaring areas of criticism among them were and are:
1st: It will create a monster in the guise of Lok pal that will destroy parliamentary system of democracy. To quote Shiv Sena's supremo, Bal Thackeray, it will be a new "Gadaffi" (the Libyan dictator, now killed)
2nd: It will be incapable of and inefficient in handling the widespread corruption in a vast country, of the size of India.
But despite all this propaganda and silence by almost all political parties, the Jan Lok Pal Bill and consequent perceptions kept gaining popularity. The reasons were simple. The nation was fed up with corruption. Anna Hazare stirred its conscience with the Jan Lok pal Bill in his hand. As opposed to them, the government was fighting the IAC empty handed, with a track record of having done nothing to curb corruption. With hollow promises and political statements, every government had aided and abetted corruption, bringing the country to the lowest ebb.
But during its fight with the IAC, the UPA government armed itself with its own bill that it began claiming to be a more efficient tool for fighting corruption. India, once again. has two competing, anti-corruption bills capable of creating and holding on to their constituencies. Is Jan Lok pal Bill the only panacea to make a corruption-free nation? This is the question that the people will begin asking, sooner rather than later.
How all this happened? : Anna's April fast unto death ended with government decision to accept IAC's demand of a Joint Drafting Committee to make an anti-graft legislation. Five ministers and five IAC activists began the negotiations, with the Jan Lok Pal Bill as the basis. But the ministers found this bill unpalatable.. In nine meetings in an atmosphere of verbal wars, the ministers accepted a few procedural and jurisdictional clauses and declared the end to meetings. They drafted their own bill, got it approved by the cabinet and tabled it in Parliament on August 4, 2011. Team Anna cried foul and demanded its withdrawal and replacement by a Jan-Lok Pal bill type strong bill. Anna demanded its passage in the Monsoon session of Parliament by august 15, failing which he would launch his second "Fast Unto Death" beginning August 16th.
But before Anna could launch his fast, he was arrested and put in the Tihar Jail. Nation rose in an almost- revolt, coming to streets in all big cities and towns in support of Anna's mission. He was released but continued with his fast in the Ramlila ground of Delhi, getting response and winning accolades beyond imagination.
Before the monsoon session ended, the Parliament through the Prime Minister entreated Anna Hazare to end with his fast, assuring him that his three demands would be included in the new bill. In a resolution, "The Sense of the House" read by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukhejee, the government and the Parliament agreed to bring the whole bureaucracy under Lok Pal, there will be Lokayuktas in every state and the Citizens' Charter would be the integral part of the Lok pal Bill.
The "Sense of the House" saved Anna's life but pushed the IAC to a battle ground of which they knew nothing. It was the Parliament of India, where there is not even a single friend or sympathizer to the Jan Lok Pal Bill.
The government sent its own bill, the Aruna Roy's Bill, the Jan Lok Pal Bill and the Sense of the house to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for considerations. The committee had no obligations towards the "Sense of the House", as the instructions were "to consider" and "not for inclusion." It came out out to be a mirage.
It returned the bill after three months, the government made a few changes and introduced it in the Lower House on December 22, 2011, under the name of "The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 It introduced along with a Constitutional (116th amendment) bill to give it a constitutional status, claiming that it would make it yet stronger and more effective. The Congress and the government spokespersons branded it as the "single most effective anti-corruption law."
A fresh piece of legislation came before the Parliament and the people, which the government said, "it has many features of the Jan Lok Pal Bill " but Anna Hazare and IAC said, "it is a useless bill." While Sonia Gandhi, herself, took command and declared, she would fight for the Bill and encouraged her Parliamentarians in a meeting of Congress Party Parliamentary committee, Anna Hazare dared her a public debate on the merits and demerits of the government Lok Pal Bill. But neither the government nor the Congress party, this time, cared for Anna's ultimatum In the winter session on December 27, government used its majority in the lower House to pass the bill, but could not succeed in giving it a constitutional status as it could not muster 2/3rd majority. The Team Anna was forced to renew and resume its battle on PERCEPTION FRONT to prove that its Jan Lok Pal is the only panacea against corruption as opposed to the Government's Bill that they fault as aider and abettor of corruption.
Will IAC be able to rally the masses in the changed circumstances, the way it succeeded earlier? This time, the target is Manmohan-Sonia backed bill, not an empty handed government.
Jan Lok Pal Bill has no friends in Parliament: The bill that the UPA government got passed in the lower House, the Lok pal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011, is nowhere closer to the IAC's Jan Lok pal Bill in intentions, purposes and goals, though, with a few provisions, it has given the shape of look-alike. IAC rejected it the way it rejected the August 4 bill.But, It was aware that it was not possible to get it withdrawn or stop its passage as the UPA has its majority there. It, therefore, depended entirely on the Upper House (Rajya Sabha), where UPA does not have numbers.
But unfortunately, even, the upper House, also, disappointed the followers of IAC's Jan Lok Pal Bill. It had a marathon debate of 11 hours, after which it was adjourned sine die. The fate of the Government Bill remained uncertain The Parliamentarians fought fierce power battle to belittle the opponents, to prove that their party was the only messiah of anti-corruption but played the whole game in such a way that the war on corruption did not advance, even an inch, proving, thereby, that IAC and its Jan Lok Pal Bill does not have even a single friend in Parliament.
Now no one can say anything about the bill with certainty. Kiran Bedi said: "It will go the Women's Bill way." The government says: "It is still alive." But with the stands that the opposition took in Parliament, we can take it for granted that there would be no Lok pal Bill for a long time to come, forget the Jan Lok Pal Bill.
What will IAC do? To press for a strong Lok Pal Bill, Anna Hazare started a 6-day protest at Mumbai, 3 days ( 27th, 28th, 29th December) of token fast, to be followed by a 3-day (30th, 31st December and January 1st) "Fill-jails" campaign, which would include Anna Hazare protesting in front of Sonia Gandhi's residence. But the government took them by surprise. On the very first day of extended session, it got the Bill passed in the lower house. Pressure did not work on Parliament.
Two more factors worked against IAC. With two competing bills before them, the loyalty of the people ceased to be unflinching as Team Anna had only accused the government bill but did not prove, it was really weak, as it had done before the April fast. Consequently, the response to Anna's 3rd fast was much lower than anticipated.
Secondly, and unfortunately, Anna Hazare, who was already weak, fell sick with bronchial viral. The fast had to be called off. The hardest time for IAC to refresh goals and choose strategies came, without prior warning. In an atmosphere, uncongenial to them, the IAC leadership opted for wrong line of action.
Battling with an unrealistic strategy. To woo the people, the IAC leadership says, it is not going to work on a single agenda of corruption, only. It is going to be expanded-election reforms, strengthening Panvhayati Raj and much more. But simultaneously, they would cease to be political. They would not campaign against any one political party. Then what will they do to make their expanded agenda true?
One option is that they would expand the movement by educating them, again.. India has already witnessed three anti-corruption movements- LK Advani's Rath Yatra. Baba RamDev's anti-black money tirades followed by an aborted fast in June and Sri Sri Ravi Shanker's yatras. How much have they succeeded in curbing corruption? With their new strategy, IAC will become the 4th preacher, with no achievements to be proud of.
The other option is that they would talk against the whole political class, as they would not target a single Party. Their slogan would, probably be, "people are supreme and not parliament." Theoretically, it sounds great but in reality, it holds no ground. It is a myth.
The ruling class is the driver of the engine that moves the train of the nation. Whether you like it or not, you cannot escape the conclusion that if the politicians don't agree, Civil society movements will never succeed.. The only solution for ending corruption is to have a pro-Jan Lok Pal Bill Parliament.
The road ahead for Team Anna is hazy because they do not know how to prop up a Parliament that will propel the anti-corruption bill into the law of land.
Learn from history: The movements that stayed away from politics withered. The window of opportunity is there-knocking at your door. Five states are undergoing elections in two months.
1st: Explain to the people, once again, that the Jan Lok Pal Bill is the only anti-corruption tool for India.
2nd: Explain to the people that they would be able to give them a corruption-free India, only if they have the political power to do so.
3rd: Anna's fasts are not that important, his presence is much more important. Just as BJP is taking Atal Bihari Vajpayee to places, request Anna to accompany you to endorse your message.
4th: Campaign for any candidate, party or independent, who pledges in the presence of Anna and people that he/she would work for lokayukta in states and LokPal in India.
5th: Boldly campaign against those, from any party, who is confirmed corrupt.
6th: and finally, work to create lobbies, caucuses, in assemblies and Parliament.
Just fifty pro-Jan Lok pal Bill associates in an assembly and parliament will put your bill in the statute book, you are looking for. Take it for granted that if you refuse to be political, your movement along with your Jan Lok Pal Bill, will be dumped into dust bin of history. (Ranjit Singh)
No comments:
Post a Comment