Public Consultation on Jan Lokpal Bill is open for the general public:-
http://www.lokpalbillconsultation.org/
http://www.lokpalbillconsultation.org/
The drafting of the Jan Lokpal bill, which is to be finalized by June 30th, 2011, is underway. You can play your part in this historic moment by giving your invaluable comments/suggestions about the different provisions in the draft of the Jan Lokpal bill which will make it the effective, accountable and independent anti-corruption body that India needs right now. Otherwise, it will remain a law which exists only on paper and has no impact on the ground. Please provide your comments as detailed below:
- Online : Filling in the form made in the: http://www.lokpalbillconsultation.org/
- Email : Sending us an email to lokpalbillcomments@gmail.com
- Postal mail : Mail your comments to the following address
Lokpal Bill Public Consultation
A-119, Kaushambi
Ghaziabad - 201010
55 comments:
The Constitution of India in its Preamble solemnly resolves, inter-alia, to give to all its citizens Equality of Status and of opportunity. When this is the angst of our constitution, why should anyone, much less a former CJI, suggest to give prime minister a special status when it runs contrary to what is promised in the constitution itself? By demanding this he is actually seeking to destroy the basic feature of the constitution. We expect better things from a legal luminary like Justice Verma.
The Constitution of India in its preamble resolves, inter-alia, to give to all its citizens Equality of Status and of Opportunity. Why then one, much less a former CJI, should seek to keep PM out of the purview of Lokpal when this runs contrary to what is promised in the preamble of the constitution. Preamble, I understand is the soul and the spirit of the constitution. Seeking to give prime minister a special status would amount to destroying the basic feature of the constitution which a luminous luminary like Justice Verma should not seek. As for his comment that we cannot have a lame duck prime minister, it must be said whether he likes it or not, we already have one.
Dr. Manmohan Singh gave a false affidavit in order to be elected to Rajya Sabha by virtue of which he is the prime minister of the country today. He declared that he was a domiciled resident of Guwahati and on the basis of this declaration, he became eligible for election to Rajya Sabha. Can a person of this kind be accepted as honest and whether his election is not vitiated because of this false affidavit?
Lokpal as suggested by the government is nothing but an eyewash. It is not going to achieve anything as it intends to achieve nothing. It will be like its anti--defection law that prevented no defection.
Lokpal suggested by the civil society is the one that is going to make real difference and a strong deterrent to those who have made corruption a way of their life.
Nothing wrong in Anna meeting politicians to convince them about the necessity of having a lokpal along the line envisaged by the civil society. But I do not find it rather amusing that he should eulogise our PM so much. The simplest of all truths is if the leader is good the team cannot be bad. The fact of the matter is the team is bad. So the leader cannot be good.
It should read "I find rather amusing" and not as carried in the write-up. Error regretted.
Dr. Manmohan Singh should have shown courage to face the camera and people, instead of just speaking to a few chosen news editors within the four walls of his official residence. It is natural he would exude confidence in the midst of his own people. Don't they say 'apne ghar mein ..... bhi sher hota hai'? This is not the way a PM should conduct himself. By doing this he has not enhanced his prestige. His credibility continues to be low.
The more you say 'I am in charge', the more you lend credence to the suspicion that you are not. Such things are not stated, they are to be seen. It should be visible that you are in charge. Because it is not visible, you have to say it time and again and that exposes you more to the charge that you are not in control and you are merely holding it on for someone else. What a fall for an honest PM who is also a workaholic working for 18 hours a day and producing 2G, 3G & CWG! Must we put up with it all?
Anna is doing a great job: meeting politicians in an attempt to make them see reason on why it is desirable to have their version of Lokpal. It is immaterial whether or not they agree to support him. People are watching them and their reactions. At least, they won't complain that Anna did not talk to them before launching his final onslaught. The likes of Laloo have reacted along the expected lines, for they have much to fear from this Lokpal. Keep it up Anna.
Jaswant Singh is sad that some of the MPs have continued to be denied bail and are stagnating in jail. Birds of the same feather flock together. He never expressed this kind of feelings for those non-political people who have been rotting in jails for years together. And for a change Veerappa Moily too is in agreement with Singh. Now who says Congress and BJP do not have a mating errrr....a meeting point?
Thanks for giving your opinion on the current developments wrt Annaji's attempts. Politicians will be wary of any attempt that reduces their omnipotence. Even though Annaji may seem to be having difficulty in getting support from different sections of politicians, the people are watching. Annaji's main success is in increasing the awareness level of people.
There is absolutely no doubt that Anna has ushered in re-awakening in the nation.The young population of the country had never seen anything like this. This is the immediate gain for the country. Awareness about the need for eradicating corruption is more important than the corruption itself. Awareness has the lethal power of killing the monster called corruption. That is the reason why political parties will gang up and will do everything to nip in the bud. They fooled us for forty odd years on the ghost of lokpal. Good thing is--people have been able to see through the game of politicians, no matter which political umbrella they hold aloft. Armed with this tool of awareness, the re-awakened India can really launch the operation kill. Won't be easy. True. The adversaries are very strong and armed to the teeth. So, be ready for the long haul.
Yes, it is going to be a long fight and we can not expect immediate change of mind from the politicians. See, how Jaswanth singh is speaking for bail for Raja and Kani. The true colours of politicians are getting exposed in this fight against corruption.
The US also experienced a similar situation 100 years ago, that we are facing today. We are passing through a phase in which Democracy is maturing.
The access to power and money given by Democracy to the elected leaders is misused in the initial years of democracy. But once awareness sets in among the voters and vigil is kept up, the rulers would have to behave properly. It might take a decade or so for maturing into a better democracy where sincere persons would become ministers. But its prerequisites have begun in India. With nearly 60 crores of the population under 25, who are going to decide whom to govern them, the powers that be can not be dilly dallying with Lokpal or with any attempt to curb corruption.
From the way our prime minister has been running the country, it can be safely said that he is a little casual in his approach to various things. Even if we ignore the issues of corruption for a while, we cannot ignore PMO's latest goof-up on Bangladesh. Could he and his PMO not have been a little more discreet while making that obnoxious comment about 25% Bangladeshis being anti-India? India is surrounded on all its sides with countries that are hardly friendly, if not actively hostile. This latest goof-up can turn the present friendly govt. of Bangladesh on the defensive about India. Whatever little PR work was done by SM Krishna will have been lost. Don't we deserve a little circumspect PM? We have already had a taste of his statesmanship when he signed a joint statement with Pakistan in which India's possible role in Baluchistan was alluded to.
On whether to bring the PM under the Lokpal, I am undecided in my opinion as I find merit in the argument against bringing the PM under its purview. I think the problem is with enforcement. The ways of MMS has made us think of bringing PM under it. If only MMS has the will to make things alright, he would have done.
But he didn't because he has not been elected directly by the people. If only he has gone to the people and asked them to vote him to power, he would have felt it necessary to think about the people. He would be scared to face the people again in the hustings with all the corruption he has allowed. But he is not an elected leader is the main reason for his ineptitude. He sees to it that he is loyal to Sonia who has put him there. He does not seen to have any compulsive feeling of loyalty to the people. That is the problem with him.
I do not see any reason whatsoever why PM should not be under Lokpal. PM cannot escape accountability and accountability means he must make good the loss the country has suffered because of his actions/inactions. Mere statement that he is accountable is not enough unless he is made to pay for his follies. He must atone for those acts, must expiate for the wrongs done to the country. Looking at the way he occasionally mumbles, it can be safely said that our PM is "beating in the void his luminous wings in vain".
As was to be expected, the all party meeting on Lokpal ended without any result. It is said BJP could oppose the govt. version of lokpal. But that would be a posturing and nothing more. These politicians are out to gain some brownie points when in fact they have no desire of supporting Team Anna's Lokpal. Laloo did not mince words and roundly criticized the very concept of lokpal. He would certainly not want that there should be any agency at all to check corruption. For the likes of him it is unthinkable to have a corruption free India. The whole exercise is going to end in a fiasco. Anna will have no choice but to undertake that fast, if only to keep his word. Those keen to have a strong lokpal will have to re-charge their energy.
VR Krishna Iyer is one of the most respectable names in the legal horizon of India whose disinterestedness (not uninterestedness or lack of interest) is unquestionable. He has no doubt that those opposing the inclusion of PM and higher judiciary in the ambit of lokpal were "either unaware of the correct constitutional position or were deliberately misleading the country". This is precisely what I had to say when a former CJI suggested exclusion of PM & Judiciary from the ambit of Lokpal. Only, the expressions were a little different. This is the time for all concerned people of India to come to its aid.
Laloo may have said it in anger. But the fact remains, even military has become corrupt and it would not be far fetched to suggest that it too should be brought under the purview of lokpal. But fortunately, despite all shortcomings, military has a system that works and works with a degree of efficacy that cannot be matched by civil institutions. Therefore, it would not be desirable to bring military under lokpal though military suffers from this malaise of corruption bequeathed to it by the corrupt polity that exists in our country. Nothing today is free from corruption and that is precisely because there is no fear of law. And that is because there is no effective instrument of implementation. Nitish's service act in Bihar did not make any difference to the people of Bihar precisely because there is no effective implementing machinery in place. But, Laloo's fear is understandable. We all know this government did not permit CBI to go for appeal in Laloo/Rabri DA case. The spectre of fodder scam has not left him and will not leave him so long as he is on the scene.
Government is trying to confuse people by saying that the proposed Jan Lokpal would become a Frakenstein. This is done deliberately so that government finds an escape route to shelve the whole thing. Government is relying heavily on the short memory syndrome. But it is failing to read the mood of the people who are overwhelmingly in favour of the Lokpal as envisaged by Anna Team. While denigrating 1200 people who form part of the survey that favours bringing in of PM and judiciary under lokpal, some of these politicians especially those from congress and Laloo lose sight of the fact that they are only 542 in Lok Sabha representing the whole of country. If they are so confident of their position, they should seek a fresh mandate on these very issues on which the survey was conducted. Not many will ever return to parliament, and that's for sure.
India's sincerity about curbing of corruption became amply clear when India did not figure in the list 116 countries that signed the convention as at 10 Jan 06 nor in the list of those 15 countries that ratified it as on that on date. Some of the countries that ratified are Kenya, Namibia, El Salvador, Madagaskar and Sri Lanka, and of course Uganda. There are 71 or more articles that cover all aspects of the menace and ways and means of tackling the problem. I have learnt that India has recently ratified Articles 45 & 46 of the said convention. While Art. 45 deals with 'transfer of sentenced persons' 46 deals with matters of 'mutual legal assistance' and the broad issues of seizure, forfeiture and freezing of assets created and all other important issues that can ensure return of ill-gotten wealth have been conveniently left out. The hypocrisy and its complicity in crimes against the nation is so very clearly visible. Do we expect this government to adopt a lokpal that will probe them and ferret out the money stashed away?
United Nations Convention against corruption has in its Article 2 outlined the meaning of the term "Public official" as i) any person holding a legislative, executive, administrative or judicial office of a state Party, whether appointed or elected, whether permanent or temporary, whether paid or unpaid, irrespective of that persons seniority; ii)any other person who performs a public function, including for a public agency or public enterprise, or provides a public service, as defined in the domestic law of the state party and as applied in the pertinent area of law of that state party; iii) any other person defined as a'public official'. Does this leave any scope for our PM & judiciary/bureaucrats to stay away from the purview of Lokpal? In fact, even Sonia Gandhi as NAC chairperson will attract the provisions of lokpal. Yet, look at the way these people are trying to kill this lokpal.
We understand the government is seeking clarifications from SC on its order on constitution of SIT to look into the aspects of black money stashed away. One really wonders as to what clarifications the government needs when everything is elaborately explained in an order of 81 paragraphs running into 53 pages! What actually the government is trying to achieve by this is a face saver, because it knows not many people in India would read the order that thoroughly exposes the ill-intent of the government. The much hyped about Double Taxation Agreement with Germany is nothing but an instrument to hoodwink the people of India. A reading clearly shows the ill-intent of the government and it has been adequately exposed by the SC order. Govt. should stop fooling around and should instead get down to real issues of governance or should make way for a new government.
The way corruption is getting exposure everyday in India, one may be tempted to express fears on our country becoming a failed state. Robert Rotberg writes in his book 'When States Fail: Causes and Consequences' about it. It reads "Failed states offer unparalleled economic opportunity--but only for a privileged few. Those around the ruler or ruling oligarchy grow richer while their less fortunate brethren starve. Immense profits are available from an awareness of regulatory advantages and currency speculation and arbitrage.But the privilege of making real money when everything else is deteriorating is confined to the clients of the ruling elite... The nation-state's responsibility to maximise the well-being and prosperity of all its citizens is conspicuously absent, if it ever existed....Corruption flourishes in many states, but in failed states it often does so on an unusually destructive scale. There is widespread petty or lubricating corruption as a matter of course, but escalating levels of venal corruption mark failed states". Incidentally, the Hon'ble SC cited this whole passage while dealing with the question of black money stashed away in the distant foreign lands. This means the idea of failed state played quite a part in the court passing the order because the situation obtaining in India matches the situation described by the author. Is it not good enough a reason that we should insist on creation of a lokpal that could help erase the traces of failed state?
UN Convention against corruption was signed on 31st October, 2003 by 116 countries and ratified by 15 countries which did not include India. The question is-why is India shy of fight corruption when the entire world is seized of the problem and wants to rid the world of its malaise. We are told after much delay and diffidence India ratified just 2 out of 71 articles. We need to know as to why the government had to dither on the issue. That explains why the government is unwilling to accept civil society's version of lokpal that aims at dealing firmly with corruption and corruption related matters.
In his foreword to The UN Convention Against Corruption, Kofi Annan, the then UN Secretary General, said,"corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish." Aren't we facing it all in our everyday life? Are we not victims of all the above stated crimes, simply because we are not willing to tame the monster called corruption? Corruption is a key element in economic under-performance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and development. Do we still need to be told as to why we must have Lokpal of the stature, power and authority as suggested?
Every voice in India and abroad that counts for anything has expressed the view that the lokpal proposed by the government is a non-starter in so far as containment of corruption is concerned. Every voice of reason has demanded its withdrawal and acceptance of Anna's version of Lokpal. Yet the government headed by the 'honest' prime minister looks the other way. The way this government is behaving, it would appear as though it has the unquestionable mandate from the people of India to ride rough shod over every canon of decency. Any civilized nation/ government would have been rocked in its cradle by the spate of scams hitting India every day. And the government would not blink! What have we come to? Is this the India we keep projecting as spiritual homeland for the world, a moral teacher of the world? Its time we shook it out of its slumber. The best way to do so would be to join Anna on 16th and bring this government down to its knees.
We have a government that cannot tackle corruption at any level. We have a government that cannot stop terrorists from any part of the world to stalk and attack our nation's sovereignty and get away. We have a government that cannot protect its citizens held hostage by sea-pirates. We have a government that cannot contain price rise and inflation. We have a government that cannot stock its surplus food-grain and must allow it to rot. We have a government that cannot guard its coast effectively and allow stray ships to kill its shores. In short, we have a government that cannot govern. Yet, we must have it?
People of Bihar demonstrated their anger against the lokpal bill presented in the parliament by setting the bill on fire at various streets and important locations at Patna and elsewhere in the state. We took an oath on this 9th August that just as the first Gandhi had launched the quit India movement on this day, we shall stand by Anna Hazare the second Gandhi who has pledged to make serious attempts to eliminate corruption from our midst and towards that end he has inspired the countrymen to launch vigorous campaign against Govt. version of lokpal and bring in our own version that promises to tackle corruption in the manner these people's representatives have never attempted in the past and would not attempt in future.
Mr Sinha,
I appreciate your sustained efforts to fight against corruption.
If you could provide me the links to your articles on Anna's plans, I will post them.
The prime minister keeps prattling that he does not have a magic wand to i)arrest price rise and stop economic slow down ii) to eliminate corruption. Did he come to this office with this fond hope that he would have magic wands to tackle the problems India faces? No one moves into an office with a magic wand. He should have known it before embarking on this office. And from the way he has conducted his office so far, it has become plain to all Indians that neither he nor his government is interested in tackling this issue of corruption and he is trying to show to the world that Anna and his team is trying to desecrate the parliament. This is absurd, to say the least. It is the parliamentarians of shady character who have desecrated the parliament and by presenting the bill on Lokpal the government is trying to give a legal face to this act of desecration of the parliament. No member of the civil society is against the parliament or the parliamentary system. They are against those parliamentarians who have tarnished the image of our parliament and the nation and instead of serving the people and the nation, they have chosen to self-serve themselves. Jan Lokpal Bill seeks to right this and that is why these so-called representatives of the people who care hoots for them have raised a hell of a cry against Anna and his movement. India has risen now. The government and the prime minister should see the writings on the wall and should not try to fatigue them out. This will be suicidal for them.
Members of this government have still not reconciled themselves to the fact that they are not the masters, but representatives of people. They derive their power from people. A representative cannot be the master of the one he represents. Just as a holder of of power of attorney cannot override the powers of the one who bestowed that power, so also an MP or an MLA cannot become masters of the people who have vested that power in him/her. These representatives have been behaving like feudal lords or masters of the people which is negation of democracy. Therefore, when they charge Anna and his team of showing disrespect to them and their seat of power, i.e. parliament, they make this basic mistake. Parliament is not supreme as they keep saying. People are supreme and the MPs seated there are mere representatives and nothing more. Anna has shown them their right place and that is the reason why they are peeved. The sooner they realize their folly the better, because people have realized that their representatives have taken them for a ride long enough. It is no body's case that Janlokpal bill will at once remove corruption. But it will certainly go a long way in doing that as it will instil fear in the minds of the corrupt, and that will be the stepping stone for other things to follow to cleanse the Augean Stable that our parliament appears to have become.
There are mainly two types of criticism levelled against Anna now that he has succeeded in demonstrating all that is evil in the government. One, by going on fast he is blackmailing the government and two this is not the way civil society should work or works. To the first criticism first. When the representatives of people in the seat of power refuse to behave like representatives, what options do you have to stop them from going berserk? What does one do to a person/s who is/are drunk of hemlock(power)? And is it wrong to blackmail an immoral government? If it had any moral fibre left in it, it should have tackled corruption with heavy hand instead of patronizing the corrupt and looting the nation. What do you do to a guard who instead of guarding your citadel starts plundering it? To the second criticism now. What does the civil society do when the government refuses to listen to the voice of people and scoffs at findings of various surveys/referenda[? What should the civil society do when for decades a government dithers on an important issue of tackling corruption? How should a civil society react when government takes refuge behind various rules/procedures when it comes to enacting laws or passing bills that are in public interest and spends ages to keep them in suspended animation, but takes no time in passing bills relating to their own salary and benefits? Those critics would do me and the country a great service if they can suggest a way out of this. If this government is so keen to tackle corruption as it claims it is, why should it shy away from giving Anna's version a try? After all heaven is not going to fall. Amendments can always take place. Haven't we already amended our enormous constitution 110 times? And are we sure, we aren't going to amend it any further? Those who criticize Anna should ponder over these issues first. True, this is not the best way to settle a matter, but what can one do when the government is adamant in its belief that it is the master and we the people the servants? Anna is there because the government has failed to deliver. There would not have been any demand for a strong lokpal bill if the government had performed its basic duty.
Now some of the govt. sympathizers are coming up with strange arguments to deflect attention from the issue at hand. The argument is--many of those supporting Hazare do not know anything about his version of lookpal. Therefore, their support does not count for much. In one of the recent surveys it was revealed that many of our young generation did not know anything about Mahatma Gandhi and issues relating to our freedom struggle. We also know many people do not know much about our constitution and about many extant laws operating in India. Does this non-knowledge bar them from participating in activities that relate to India? This is very funny indeed. Our honourable Foreign Minister SM Krishna does not know many things about people held in Indian prisons or Pakistani prisons. He does not even know which speech to read out in UN. If he can proudly be our External affairs minister without any check or restrictive tools put on him, why not teeming millions that support Anna? They may not know the finer points, but they know their Anna and that is enough to qualify them as genuine and legitimate supporters. If we start testing the knowledge of people, we will find many seated in that august house called parliament ignorant about very simplistic and elementary things. These people instead of questioning people's knowledge about jan lokpal bill should concentrate on issue at hand. The issue is to have a strong, independent and effective lokpal to contain corruption that has grown full up to the brim and is now spilling over.
Read my latest post on Anna Hazare:-
"The Anna Hazare Phenomenon and Yuga Dharma"
http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/2011/08/anna-hazare-phenomenon-and-yuga-dharma.html
The worst fears have come true. As the saying goes, 'birds of the same feather flock together', the politicians have shown it beyond doubt that they will stick together when their credentials, commitments and integrity are questioned by someone who has not purchased mandate from people to do whatever they liked. People's demands whether echoed by Anna or anyone else from the civil society must pass through the procedural sieves of parliament because according to them parliament is supreme irrespective of what is the character of the parliamentarians. In the midst of attack, they have sunk their differences and have huddled together to protect their rights to engage in all kinds of corrupt practices, that being their birth right. Whether Anna dies or lives is not a matter of concern, notwithstanding the crocodile tears being shed by PM. Whether they outlast him and his agitation is important because that will determine whether they will continue to enjoy being masters of the people they lord over as feudal lords to keep trampling over them. They cannot take it lying down that Anna should call them names like 'Gaddar'. Understandably enough. Even a blind does not like to be called blind, so also a 'gaddar' will not like to be addressed as 'gaddar', much less being gheraoed and asked questions by the lesser beings who have the audacity of calling themselves their masters on being egged on by Anna.
On the one hand PM writes a letter to Anna pleading him to end his fast; on the other hand, his troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee gives two hoots for his fast. Not just that, we now know why Anna had been insisting on having a written assurance and commitments from the government and its representatives at the talks. These people are quite adept at reneging on commitments made. Before the last round of talks, we had been told that most of the points were agreed upon and the only hitches remained on three contentious issues that were under discussion. But after the last round of talks it has become clear that they are back to square one because the government has backed out from all commitments made. It needs no explaining as to why this government is not trusted by anyone. One wonders whether there is any point in continuing this negotiation that is leading us no where. But then the negotiation is the only tool available in addition to the agitation programme. In view of this, Team Anna should insist on videorecording the proceedings and put it on public domain. Else, Anna should take a call on the future course of action on this assumption that talks are only a time buying exercise and that nothing was to come out of this. Should a frail bodied man who is fighting for India be treated in this manner?
Suddenly, everybody appears to have become concerned about the health of Anna who has been fasting for 10 days now. Where were they during these days? Were they waiting for him to surrender? Anna may lack sophistication and may not speak quality language that most of our learned ministers and opposition leaders speak. But he speaks a language every commoner understands and appreciates. Govt. is now asking for time. Anna had stipulated the time frame months ago. If the government was serious it should have acted accordingly. Clearly, the govt. was waiting for the agitation to fizzle out. That it did not and Anna could continue for this long has upset its calculations which is why it is now falling back on just anybody to try to make Anna give up his fast. But having gone this far, if Anna withdraws his agitation without anything tangible to show, it will do him and his campaign a massive harm. The ball is in the court of the government and instead of wasting time on trying to discredit the movement, it should get down to the business of passing the strong, independent and effective lokpal bill to address the issues raised by Anna.
While it may not be a great idea to disgorge venom on the politicians for the simple reason that they have a role to play in making or unmaking India and that not all politicians are bad, politicians too need to introspect as to why there is so much hatred for them in the first place. If they do that, they will discover that people are justifiably angry with them because they have failed them as an instrument of governance. Self-aggrandizement more often than not has guided them in deciding things. While people have largely been left to fend for themselves, they have cornered all benefits that went with the independence. In fact, the independence has merely made people more vociferous and strident in their demands which have scarcely been met the way they should have been. While an honest man in today's India after 30-40 years of drudgery is barely able to subsist, a politician having no qualifications or merit of any kind ends up being millionaires and billionaires just in a seven-year stint as chief minister of a state. The question is how does it happen? Not just the CM, but all relatives (near and distant ones) amass so much wealth in no time. The question is how does it happen? People may not speak out because of the fear of reprisal, but the anger does not evaporate. It is this anger that has come to fore now with Anna having given a voice to their anger. If politicians really want this anger to abate, they should try to meet the legitimate demand of finding ways and means of eliminating corruption and make way for retrieving what has been cornered by the unscrupulous politicians. It should not be very difficult for a government that is keen to tackle corruption as Dr. MMS says his government is to ferret out these elements that have corroded our democracy and our country. For a change a sincere effort is the most desired thing for now.
In this euphoria we must not lose sight of the fact that at the slightest opportunity this govt could strike back with a vengeance. Whatever their posturing, they are rattled from within. If it were not for the unfailing public support, the govt would have treated this Ramlila gathering also in the same roughshod manner in which it had treated Baba Ramdev. Fortunately, that did not happen. But that offers no reason to lower guard. Anna has just won a battle. The war is yet to be won and its not going to be an easy one doing that. For, not all those who are seen to be with Anna are actually the supporters of the cause Anna has espoused. Already, Agnivesh and Hegde have branched out and are spewing venom against Anna Team ostensibly because they failed to hog the limelight. Maybe, they have the support of the government. Parliament has after all only conveyed the sense of the house. No resolution was passed. The matter has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee of which Laloo Prasad and Amar Singh are the esteemed members and about them and their credentials the less said the better. You never know what recommendations they will make to the parliament and we can never be sure that the parliament will reject their recommendations if they pleaded against those three contentious issues raised by Anna. We are still on a very slippery ground. Govt. is known for its going back on commitments. We have seen this many times in the recent past. It had agreed to pass a resolution by putting it on vote. All it did instead was to make an announcement through the leader of the house to convey the sense of the house. Would it not have been better if the Speaker and not the leader of the house had made this announcement so that it carried some sanctity? As the saying goes there are many a slip between the cup and the lips. Anna has rightly declared that he was not calling off the agitation. He has merely suspended his fast and will not rest until the bill is passed. In short, he cannot afford to go slow on it. The wily government is waiting for its chance to pounce upon anything that even remotely gives them an opportunity to strike back.
Om Puri had no business to say things he said about the honourable members of parliament even if he believed them to be true. Indeed, he apologised. Its another matter that the honourable members decided not to accept his apologies and proceeded with drawing a motion of privilege against him and Bedi who mimicked them. The honourable members are within their rights to proceed against them because besides being honourable they have this instrument which is not available to Puri or to Anna. The honourable members have chosen to haul up Puri for foulmouthing the parliamentarians in general. But look at some of the honourable members themselves. What did Laloo and Sharad Yadav say about Puri and about his marital life? That he was a drunkard whom his wife had driven out of home. The other honourable parliamentarians instead of stopping them midway as Team Anna did to Puri not only allowed these honourable men to continue their personal diatribe against Puri, but also enjoyed., relished and laughed at his expressions and descriptions. The honourable parliamentarians who are touched to the quick did not think it necessary to chastise Manish Tiwari who said those unpalatable things about Anna because Anna could not have brought any privilege motion against him. True, Tiwari regretted after ten days. He regretted, not apologised; and he regretted in a manner that suggested there was no repentance or remorse. Honourable members of parliament!
A new trend appears to have come to fore after Anna's success with his experiment with Satyagraha. While its good that people have begun to realize the importance and power of his movement, it is equally disturbing that people are progressively losing faith in the ability and intent of the elected representatives to deliver. Now Kashmiris have appealed to Anna to help them tide over their problem of undemarcated, uncovered and unprotected graveyards in the state of J&K. While it may be a happy news for those who are spearheading this movement, its a sad news for our democracy. This clearly underlines the fact that these elected representatives have ceased to representat people's will. They are gradually being seen as predators. More than anyone else, it is these representatives drawn from various political parties who need to ponder over the matter. This is a big fall for them and it is for them to recapture the faith people once had in them. For this, they will have to rise above petty politicking they indulge in. If they fail to realize the danger now, it may be too late for them and for the country.
So, the government has shown its real face once again. It is useless to expect this government to show any modicum of civility. It only shows that it has not taken the climb down to those conditions of Anna kindly, and whatever ground they yielded in the parliament was nothing but a put on. Not that we did not know, but we expected it to keep its munitions under check at least for a while. It was precisely because of this that Anna has merely suspended the agitation knowing full well the character of the government. But by doing what it is doing, the government is committing suicide of sorts. People are watching and it is only a matter of time before they re-group and re-launch the agitation Anna has given a brief quietus to. We were given to understand that since the govt has suffered a loss of face because of the presence of some of the prejudiced members of the Standing Committee, it would bring about a qualitative change in the body of this committee. But now it is amply clear that the intents of this government are foul and another bout of agitation is in the offing. That leaves us with very little choice but to gird up our loins and be ready for another grind. by selectively taking on the members of Anna team the government has shown its ugly face once again.
Is it not surprising that the prime minister who rushed back from Dhaka and went straightaway to the hospital to see the blast victims should have made such bizarre comment? 'It would be too early to say who were in it' or words to that effect and 'our security system is weak which is being exploited...' Should a PM of such a huge country as India speak like a helpless man? If he really thinks the system is weak, he should either take steps to strengthen it or quit just as Lal Bahadur Shastri did in sixties following a railway accident. Why deliver speeches instead of putting in papers? Who wants to hear that from you, Mr. PM? We do not want lame excuses for the failure of leadership. Has morality become such a scarce commodity for these people that they cannot own up moral responsibility and quit? What we are seeing in India today is complete lack of governance. Sooner these people go the better. Someone could at least make an attempt to do things. These people appear to have gone moribund and yet look at the way some of their spokespersons speak. Is no shame left in them at all? Time for India to rise. Anna has given a lead, we need to carry it forward to its logical end. We do not want our PM to talk like a helpless man. He may be helpless, India is not. If you can't carry the load, just quit, Dr. MMS.
We have a prime minister who is not sure of what he should do. We have a finance minister who does not know what to do with inflation. We have a home minister who is totally unsure of what is happening in the country and how to tackle the attacks that are happening with impunity. All these failures have emboldened him to declare that states must fend for themselves and that it cannot ensure such attacks will ever stop. As if this was not enough of an insult, now Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has stated it publicly that Delhi is not safe for people. Delhi is the capital of India where embassies of almost all countries are located and where many foreign dignitaries come every now and then. What message did our government give to them? As one of the ministers rightly said that we Indians have become accustomed to this kind of life. He may not attach much importance to our life, but what about the foreign dignitaries? Can government say the same thing about them and get away? So, if government cannot govern,must it remain there? This is an issue on which each Indian must rack his brain and find a solution. Now the Americans too have begun to realize that Modi has the possibilities of making it to the top job in India. Should Indians also not give it a serious thought? The blemish of 2002 notwithstanding, few will deny him the credit for the economic fillip he gave to Gujarat. It would not be a bad idea if Modi owns up the failure of governance during the 2002 riot and offers and an unconditional apology to the people of Gujarat for what it went through. It will only enhance his prestige. No technicalities here. Just own up. It was his government and it was his duty (Rajdharam as Atalji called it) to protect the life of all citizens. Citizens did suffer. Its immaterial whether it was because of his complicity or otherwise. If he owns up now, it will go a long way in resurrecting his image; otherwise, he may have to live with this blot for ever. Valmiki was a bandit. He gave it up and wrote Ramayana. Modi does not have to write Ramayana, but he can rise in the eyes of some who still do not approve of him because of the blot in an otherwise successful stint as chief minister. He can go miles if he does this. Delhi is beckoning him because there is just no one there to take care of the country that seems to be moving like a rudderless boat.
I dont understand why people are asking Modi to apologize. One must apologise when one does a wrong. If Modi had committed a wrong, he would not have been elected to power consecutively after the Godhra riots and could not have achieved the development that has put Gujarat as the 3rd fastest developing State in the World. Let not people fall prey to the Congress propaganda. Congress is scared of the rising popularity of Modi and knows that it can never give good governance like Modi.
Skeletons are tumbling out of UPA cupboard. But the impact of these is affecting as a whole. Besides tarnishing the image of the country, it is affected its overall business with the rest of the world. And all these skeletons relate to corruption and corrupt practices. Strangely enough, neither the government nor those propping up the government seem concerned about the damage these revelations are doing to the country. Where are they who can really set things right? 'Jinhein naaz Hind par wo kaha hai, kaha hai, kaha hai...?' Remember this song of Guru Dutt in Pyasa?
They say charity begins at home. But our PM thinks otherwise. Else, how can one explain his energetic speech full of pragmatism delivered at the world body where he prescribed norms for bettering the society and the world economy? On home turf, we encounter all kinds of scams as we traverse through scum. He does not speak so eloquently when in India and on Indian problems largely caused by his own government. But the moment he steps out of Indian shore, his eloquent self comes to fore and he begins to sermonize the world.
Come on, Mr. Prime Minister, first set your own house in order, then ask the world to follow those goody-goody things. In other words, first practise then preach. Otherwise your erudite speeches will fall flat.
The erudite economist the most 'honest'prime minister of our country Dr. MM Singh says his ministers enjoy his confidence and that he fully backs them. No matter what they do or did. This he did not say. It can be inferred. That is what A. Raja kept saying. No one believed him. PM allowed him to resign and go to jail. Kalmadi also enjoyed his confidence and so did Dayanidhi Maran and also Kanimozhi. Yet, most of them are in jail. Why, despite enjoying the confidence of the PM, did they go to jail? There seems to be something fishy in this whole affair of having confidence in the ministers and yet ministers landing in jail. Will he, for a change, speak in India with the same degree of eloquence that he employed while speaking in the UNO to seek permanent place for India in the Security Council in order that India has greater say which the country desires? But as they say respect (synonymous with permanent seat in the security council) is deserved, not desired. The government needs to demonstrates that India really deserves, not merely desires. Let India not simply demand it which our government under Dr MMS is doing, for demanding is often demeaning.
A background paper is not just a piece of literature circulated for the purpose of aesthetic pleasure of some. It is immaterial whether there is any personal element of an FM in it. Background paper is an official document prepared by the officials based on which certain decisions or indecisions are taken or not taken. Its a fallacious argument that the paper is prepared by junior level officers. In fact this is preposterous on the part of any minister to say so. There is nothing like junior or senior level at this level. And does our 'honourable' FM(how come all of our representatives who derive powers from us are honourable while we are not?) want us to believe that the official was a trainee or someone who had just joined the service? And if so, it is the fault of the government that such an important task was assigned to this kind of officer. Let us all understand that background paper is not something that can be rubbished as the government seems to be doing.Its a government document. Fact of the matter is--governance has become a casualty under UPA II and some of the ministers are behaving like spoiled children fighting for a piece of loaf. It reminds me of Churchill who had said that "they will fight amongst themselves and India will be lost in political squabbles". How prophetic his words were! And we have a prime minister who keeps prattling that his ministers enjoy his confidence. For once he should also answer whether he enjoys the confidence of the people whom he has taken for a ride! If he thinks he does, he should go for a mid-term poll. His confidence will evaporate like camphor.
What happened in Libya and what has been happening all over the world should serve as a warning to all those who have taken aam aadmi for granted. It shows peoples' growing anger against the ruling elite in every part of the world. The growing anger is because of the growing gap between the haves and have-nots. The ruling elites should recognize this and take steps to improve situation in their backyard and address some of the key issues that concern everyone no matter where located. India's aam aadmi too is growing impatient with the monster called corruption; the growing divide between haves and have-nots is making him angry. Time for governments to read the pulse of the people. Attempting to break the movement by planting various obstacles will not help. Dr. MM Singh seems to recognize this. But will he have the guts to stem the rot?
The Hon'ble PM is urging political parties to shun too much of negativism that appears to have engulfed the country today. Very right. But the learned PM should know nothing is uncaused.If there is so much negativism today, his government is largely responsible for that and the primary responsibility of removing this air of negativism lies with him and his government. He should at least now lead by example and run the government the way it should be run. If he has to risk the survival of his government while taking some positive steps, so be it. He should be ready to sacrifice his government for the sake of positivism in the country. That will bring in a much needed fresh whiff of air. And he should ask his ministers and some of the spokespersons of the party to keep their mouth shut for a while. They have spread poison in the air by their utterances.
Much confusion that we encountered in the recent past or are still encountering can well be attributed to the fact that Anna has to depend on others for whatever he has to say. This is precisely because of his personal shortcomings on language. His inability to speak coherently either in Hindi or in English puts him disadvantageously in this age of fast communication. Every time he chooses to speak he has to look left or right for inputs and linguistic support. This gives opportunities to the likes of Diggy to say those inane things. This also created a huge embarrassment to Anna on his blog. There were times in the past when those supposed to play the second fiddle to their masters/mentors/seniors actually played the second fiddle. Today everybody is out to sell his/her personal ware. He/she no longer wants to play the second fiddle. This creates problems for Anna like persons. Anna has to find a way out of this.
At long last Sonia opened her mouth.But what is this that she invokes the assurances of PM who has never kept his word? Does she still think that after what the country has witnessed for these many years, his words will have any credibility at all? PM has said strange things in the past. He does not have a magic wand. He has to contend with coalition compulsions and so on and so forth. He allowed so many of his ministers to plunder the nation while he chose to look the other way. Come on, Madam Sonia, you should have invoked something else instead of the assurance of Dr. MMS. And well, people of the country were keen to know what was that ailment that took you to the USA. People have lots of misgivings on your ailment. When you were here, we were not told of any ailment, but once the Anna's war cry against corruption became shriller, you left the shore and declared offshore that you had an ailment that could be treated only in the US. Sounds strange, doesn't it? And there was a list of those having parked their money in Swiss bank on the web site of Wikileaks hurriedly withdrawn by the govt. Will you, for a change, come clean on some of these instead of advising Anna to listen to the assurances of a PM whose words fail to carry any conviction at all.
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