the need for supporting Anna Hazare - Lokpal Bill and some history

After a night of candlelight vigil and sloganeering, thousands of people gathered outside the Tihar Jail here to support activist Anna Hazare who has declined to move out of the prison until his demands are met.  All newschannels have only one headline and One man standing tall has captured the attention of the entire Nation –  will it ever become a decisive  battle against corruption  is in the hands of people.  Let us not bemoan that there were not enough opportunities after missing out the ones present at hand.  It is a crusade for  systemic reforms – an unfaltering step towards corruption-free India.   In every street corner, people had been speaking of a  strong anti-corruption law which provides for honest and time-bound investigations and trials that result in jail for the guilty, confiscation of embezzled money and their dismissal from service.  It is promised to be a completely non-violent movement.

At the outset, is this call a right one ?  Can anybody try and force the elected Government to submission, irrespective of whether the ends are noble or not ??  Is it righteous to press for a legislation – when only the Parliament has the right to bring about a resolution ?  Why is P Chidambaram the greatest opponent of the Jan Lokpal bill?  Why has he become so desperate so as to attack peaceful fasting people in dead of the night?  What makes Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal state that he is surprised calling it an  extreme position and is his appeal to the civil society the right one ?  he calls the society enlightened people, that  they should not stall the dialogue but allow the dialogue to continue for a constructive approach. Government and civil society are on same platform to deal strongly with the problem of corruption.  Why is not the people of the Nation not having conviction on such strong words of a Minister ?

- there are bound to be more Questions – Answers are known but not to all – a Society – the so called enlightened one should know the facts, as they clamour for a corruption-free governance……….

First  something on Legislature -  It is a kind of  deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law.  There could be one more components of a legislature.  In India, we have adopted Parliament as the supreme legislative body of a country. Our Parliament comprises of the President and the two Houses-Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The President has the power to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha. The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950; the present one in tenure is  the Fifteenth Lok Sabha  which came into being in May, 2009.

Parliament is the supreme body – the forum to  reflect public opinion and effect meaningful change, not a means to shield autocratic and dishonest governance.  Bills proposing changes or new rules are tabled in Parliament and after due process are adopted.   It does not require any individual to bring about a reformation for ushering in an legislation for the good of the people.  Democracy is Government for the people, by the people and the elected representatives primarily owe this as a duty to those who elected them…. And whether it did occur during these long years certainly does not require any explanation at all….

Kisan Baburao Hazare  is an elderly person by virture of his age – born on 15th June 1937; he has earned more than a good name by his activities especially by his contribution  to the development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India and his efforts for establishing it as a model village, for which he was awarded the Padma Bhushan—the third-highest civilian award—by the government of India in 1992.  It is history that he went on a  fast unto death on 5 April 2011 to exert pressure on the government of India to enact a strong anti-corruption act as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, a law to establish a Lokpal (ombudsman) with the power to deal with corruption in public offices. The fast led to nationwide protests in support of Hazare. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, the day after all of Hazare's demands were agreed by the government of India. The government issued a gazette notification on the formation of a joint committee (of government and civil society representatives) to draft an effective Lokpal Bill – that was promised to be a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in the next one year. 

In any public debate, one tends to ask, whether the person pointing out fingers will do any better and surprisingly – Hazare has a readymade response in the form of a proposition drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court Lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI activist), which  envisages a system where a corrupt person found guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth being confiscated. It also seeks power to the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.

Now this old man is on streets demanding that the powers that be do pay heed to his call and do deeds putting in place their earlier promises – and what happens – he gets arrested – there is high drama and the Govt. suddenly denies their role in their arrest, backtracks after taking him places, culminating putting him at Tihar jail.  The drama unfolded yesterday – after arresting Anna Hazare early morning for defying prohibitory orders and defending the decision through the day, the government climbed down and ordered the activist’s release from jail in the evening. However, till late in the night, it was still trying to persuade Hazare to leave Tihar.  Hazare is demanding that his release be unconditional and that he be allowed to continue his fast at JP Park in central Delhi, the venue agreed upon earlier.

How why the assertions Delhi Police which stated that he was threatening to defy the prohibitory orders decided that he is not – no body would have a clue !   Team Anna’s petition on their right to protest  is coming for  hearing in the Supreme Court which might provide new angles and broader perspectives.  The party in power hailed it as a victory when the party functionary defied the orders of the State Govt. in neighbouring UP but plays a different tune now.  It is not for any individual gains that Hazare is fighting for – the  Jan Lokpal Bill  is a proposed anti-corruption law in India. It is designed to effectively deter corruption, redress grievances and protect whistle-blowers. If passed and made into law, the bill seeks to create an ombudsman called the Lokpal with the power to investigate politicians and bureaucrats without prior government permission.

If you  are desirous of knowing why somebody has to come on to the streets for promulgation of it -  The bill was first introduced by Shanti Bhushan in 1968 and passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969. However, it did not get through in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.  Subsequent versions were re-introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008. But these never  lived to see the daylight…  when Anna Hazare went on fast unto death, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that the bill would be re-introduced in the 2011 monsoon session of the Parliament

The Govt. blinked but there have been strong statements from Ministers P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal – there have been various avenues to break agitations – whether Anna Hazare and those behind are resolute enough – only time can tell – and there lies a great future of the Nation cleansing.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.