The second freedom struggle! The new age Gandhi! A man on whom, a populace of more than a billion people, exasperated by corruption and nepotism, has pinned its hope for a solution! Swelling crowds at public grounds in the capital, sloganeering outside homes of elected representatives, high-adrenaline speeches and media-frenzy has brought us a brink of a new dawn in our history. As the establishment makes one gaffe more bizarre than the previous, whilst handling the growing angst - a simpleton war veteran, who has dedicated his life in uplifting villages – has attained an iconic status. It would be unfair to discredit his personal contribution in the mass following he commands, but the inexplicable high-handedness of the ruling alliance has provided the much needed catalyst.
Intriguing slogans can be heard at Ramlilla grounds everyday – some a reflection of genuine frustration and most being a thrill of inflicting personal attacks on a Prime Minister, who for reasons best known to him, has yet not taken charge of the worsening situation. Ex-bureaucrats scream their lungs out, trying to emphasize the fact that ‘huge number’ of people have pledged their support to this movement and that the Gandhian crusader enjoys the tacit mandate of more than majority of the people.
All of it, given the current backdrop of a callous administration, looks extremely glamorous, for being anti-establishment has always been accompanied by a charisma that mesmerizes masses. Through history we have seen, people implicitly consent to what happens around them by either looking the other way or simply doing nothing - but when one person starts to scream his lungs out, giving words to the brewing resentment, mobs assemble!
With all due respect to the cause which Team Anna (as they like being called) is championing, there still remain few unaddressed fundamental broad issues, which in the short term public tumult will be ignored, but once the dust settles, will rise like a phoenix! Given the fact that the representative body of the Parliament is behaving in a manner that exudes obnoxious arrogance and disconcerting apathy, mass protests are only legitimate. This brings me to a very interesting point! The term ‘mass protests’ has been used extremely generously by Arvind Kejriwal whenever he has spoken to a public, be it on stage or on a television interview. What is this ‘mass’ of people he is referring to? Even an exaggerated figure would at most add up to a million or half a million more than a whole. Either which way, this ‘mass’ is so ridiculously small a proportion of the country’s population, that Kejriwal has consciously not spoken of it ever! Half of a single percentage point cannot give a sense of ‘substantial numbers’, let alone ‘masses’. Nonetheless, the spectacle that being created by the media would induce a naïve man to believe that more than 600 million people have taken to the roads. That is majority. It is simple Math! Keeping aside naivety, truth is not a matter of numbers. However, the crudeness of arguments put forth by Mr. Kejriwal evokes such rebuttals and none but such!
In the very own words of Anna Hazare – “the main cause of corruption is the concentration of powers in the hands of a few.” Makes sense! Yesteryear has evidenced that oligarchs breed nepotism. My question to Anna Hazare is – “what in your opinion is the Jan Lokpal?” On the face of it, any reasonable man, with a mind of his own, would see it as a monolith structure with monstrous powers. For all I know, the Jan Lokpal will be a machinery installed by a preposterous selection committee (which obviously implies it will not be democratically elected by public mandate), will be bestowed wide encompassing powers, have the unquestioned authority to probe into democratically elected institutions and address grievances (a term that has not been defined and has the potential of inviting anarchy).
There is no disagreement to the fact that there ought to be surveillance on the probity of public offices, for these offices are expected to discharge their attest functions for the greatest good of the people. Probably, one could stretch this view as far as to claim that the degree of prudence expected from a public servant is as much as he would exercise in his own home. Yes, accountability and answerability are critical factors in ensuring good governance. It is a fact that the presence of a watchdog will deter unscrupulous acts and rationalizations. However, under the pretext of a watchdog, we are about to give birth to a bloodhound!
For all the aggrieved protestors and pro-Anna Hazare commentators, it is a matter of thrill to take potshots at the Prime Minister and call for the inclusion of the PMO under the ambit of the Jan Lokpal. What needs to be understood is that the PMO is not a person, but an institution. The sanctity of that office, by implication commands a certain degree of immunity from frivolous scrutiny. The power of the Jan Lokpal to initiate an inquiry into PMO, by a mere majority of the Lokpal bench, without any checks and balances is extremely high-handed and a clear detestation of the democratic institutions.
A lot of pro-Anna Hazare supporters have hailed the concept of the search committee envisaged in the IAC’s draft. I have never come across a more open ended legislative term than this. To quote, “a Search Committee shall consist of 10 members. 5 of its members shall be selected by the Selection Committee from amongst the retired Chief Justices of India, the retired Chief Election Commissioners and the retired Comptroller and Auditor Generals with impeccable reputation of integrity, who have not joined any political party after retirement and who are not holding any office under any government. The 5 members so selected shall, through consensus, co-opt another 5 members from the Civil Society in the search committee.” Two major issues arise from this.
1. 5 members co-opting 5 members is nothing short of being preposterous.
2. The term ‘civil society’ has been left undefined. Where is the line going to be drawn? How does anyone decide whether somebody is civil or uncivil?
To further quote, “the Search Committee before preparing the short list will invite nominations from such eminent individuals or such class of people, whom they deem fit, for the position of Chairperson or the members of the Lokpal”. If one construes this technically, the Lokpal will be an elitist body. What other reasoning does one have for choosing ‘eminence’ as a qualification? The bill further goes on to say, “the Government shall fill up a vacancy of the Chairperson or a member 3 months before the member or the Chairperson is due to retire. If the vacancy arises due to unforeseen reasons, it shall be filled within three months of such vacancy arising.” Is this any short of hypocrisy? On one side, you want to preclude the government from meddling with the selection of people with ‘impeccable integrity’ and on the other you shift the onus to the government for stop gap arrangements? Preposterous!
I would further draw attention to another clause which says, “any bribe giver may be granted immunity from prosecution by the special court if he voluntarily and gives timely information to the Lokpal about the giving of bribe by him with entire evidence for the purpose of getting the concerned bribe taker/public servant caught and convicted, provided he also relinquishes all the illegitimate benefits which he had received by the giving of that bribe.” Isn’t this discriminatory? Bribe givers to be given the immunity for confessing, but the alleged bribe taker shall not be given a chance to present his case before the inquiry commences! It is a well known principle of natural justice that every accused ought to be given a fair chance to be heard! But maybe Team Anna knows more than legal wisdom developed over centuries!
This leads me to question the fairness of Team Anna’s thought process. The Lokpal bill says, “no government official shall be eligible to take up jobs, assignments, consultancies, etc. with any person, company, or organisation that he had dealt with in his official capacity.” Wonder how a constitutional lawyer and a retired SC judge could consent to the inclusion of such an intrusive clause in an anti-corruption law? A reasonable period of prohibition is understandable. A blanket ban is absolutely dictatorial! And now the most preposterous of all clauses! Hold your breath. “Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, if someone makes any complaint under this Act, which lacks any basis or evidence and is held by Lokpal to be meant only to harass certain authorities, Lokpal may impose such fines on that complainant as it deems fit, but the total fine in any one case shall not exceed Rs one lakh. Provided that no fine can be imposed without giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the complaintant. Provided further that merely because a case could not be proved under this Act after investigation shall not be held against a complainant for the purposes of this section. Provided that if such complaint is against the staff or officers of Lokpal, Lokpal may sentence the complainant to three months of simple imprisonment in addition to fine.” The price of a frivolous complaint against the PM or a Cabinet Minister is as huge as a hundred thousand rupees? Really? I am unable to find words to rebut such levels of absurdity!
At this point, I need to clarify that I am not endorsing the government’s version of the bill. This is not a matter of either-or! The government’s version is a cruel joke on the citizens of this country. But the point is not of choosing between two mutually exclusive drafts! The point is - the IAC movement has started to arm-twist and blackmail the establishment. No Anna Hazare, with a support of 10 lakh screams has the right to demand of Parliament to pass a, supposedly defining legislation in a matter of 18 days. The time needed by the Parliament its prerogative and such abnegation is intolerable.
In one of its most noble gestures, the Parliament resolved to appeal to Anna Hazare to call of his fast, but the man wouldn’t budge! Calls himself DEMOCRATIC! A man acting like a stubborn child for a raspberry candy and none but that!
And to ass insult to injury, the government just doesn’t seem to relent. To a lot of adolescent understanding, it may appear that the establishment is moving in the right earnest. A bit more of maturity will show you – it is taking the entire movement in a circle and leaving them at the point from where they started!
