Finally - Indian Parliament passes Lokpal Bill

Finally! Yes finally - almost four decades - Indian Parliament finally clears the Lokpal Bill.

The demand for an ombudsman to investigate and punish errant public servants was first raised by Jaiprakash Narayan in the seventies. Jayprakash Narayan popularly referred to as JP had launched a movement to fight against corruption and misrule is 1974.

The demand for Lokpal once again picked up steam in 2010 when Shanti Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and others came together under the stewardship of Kisan Baburao (Anna) Hazare of Nanded.

Anna has overall sat on hunger strike 18 times out of which the last four fasts have been for getting the Jan Lokpal Bill passed by parliament.

Anna's Fasts for Lokpal

April 2011 -Anna fasted for 5 day at New Delhi.

August 2011 - Anna fasted for 13 days again at New Delhi. This proved to be a turning point in Indian politics. People came to the streets in all parts of the country in support of Anna Hazare and Lokpal. Prime Minister and the whole parliament came together and promised Anna that the Lokpal would be passed at the earliest.

December 2011 - At Mumbai - Anna fasted for 2 days.

December 2013 - Probably the last fast by Anna for Lokpal Bill. This was Anna's 18th fast in all and lasted for 9 days. This time the government bowed and the Lokpal Bill as passed by both houses of parliament.

But by this time, Arvind Kejriwal who had been a key person in Anna's Lokpal campaign had left his side. Kejriwal had formed his own political party. His party had contested in the Delhi State Polls - an election in which the Congress Party was miserably trounced.

The Bill

Although the Bill passed by parliament is not exactly what Anna Hazare had set out for, yet Anna has accepted the Bill in its current form with the confidence that coming parliamentarians will introduce modifications based the experiences gathered.

Will India finally get its Lokpal?

It seems that the Lokpal Bill will finally go through.

So much time has passed since the fast of Anna Hazare and since the Prime Minister had sent a letter of promise assuring that Parliament would pass the Lokpal Bill at the earliest. In fact, so much time has passed that many of us had started feeling the government had fooled Anna. I am sure, Anna too must have felt the same way otherwise would he have to go on fast again.

After the severe bashing received in the recently concluded state elections, I think the Congress party must have realized that it cannot ignore Anna Hazare and his fasting anymore. Whatever be the reason, the fact remains that the Bill is out of the refrigerator and has been taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha. Surprisingly, Congress supremo Rahul Gandhi has displayed a positive stance on the Lokpal Bill.

The party's young leader Rahul Gandhi has spoken in its favor and requested the other parties to ensure that the Bill is passed. The latest development is that even Anna Hazare has said that he accepts the provisions of amended Lokpal that has been tabled in the Rajya Sabha for discussion.

In the current scenario, even BJP cannot afford to ignore the Bill anymore.

So, it seems that the Lokpal Bill will finally go through.

Anna Hazare starts indefinite fast for Jan Lokpal Bill

Amidst all the political activity of the recent days, Anna Hazare has started his indefinite hunger strike demanding the government to fulfill its promise to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament.

This time Anna Hazare has chosen his home town, Ralegan Siddhi, as the venue for his fast.

More than a year has passed since the Prime Minister had personally written to the veteran social activist last year requesting him to end his fast after the parliament had passed a resolution to the effect.

Some political observers are advising the Congress-led UPA government at Delhi to take cognizance of the huge defeat the Congress party has faced in the recently concluded elections and that it had better pay heed to the long pending demand of the people for a strong Jan Lokpal Bill, or be ready for an even worse fate in the forth-coming general elections.

Coalgate Independent Investigation - the Role of CBI and of the Government

The recent fiasco of the UPA regime came to the fore when reports of Government interference in the preparation of the Status Report by CBI on Coal Mine scam were published in the media.

The anti-corruption movement by Anna Hazare was started on the very premise that there should be an independent investigation agency devoid of any government interference. An investigating agency that would be free to investigate and prosecute anyone irrespective of position and status.

The recent developments,

• starting with the revelation of the fact that the Coalgate investigation report was shared with the law minister, 
• the accusing letter from Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval addressed to Attorney General GE Vahanvati 
• followed by Supreme Court's observations that the CBI need not take instructions from political masters, 

once again highlight the need for an independent investigating agency.

The Government of India had already given clear indications that it was not going to do anything to take action against the corrupt. The way action was taken against campaigners like Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdeo are glaring examples.

In fact, it has done all in its power to protect the high-profile accused. It is very disappointing.

We can only hope things improve.

2012 - Who grew in Indian Politics?

2012 has been a busy year for Indian Politics.

Swami Ramdev, Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal are some of the new names that have emerged on the political front during the course of 2012. Each of these three got prominence due the government's apparent inaction in tackling corruption and black money.

Swami Ramdev and Anna Hazare got great public support for their campaign against black money and corruption. But, the ruling Congress-led coalition managed to suppress their movements. The government managed to successfully put Swami Ramdev on the back foot, while Anna Hazare's campaign lost its sheen as Anna was apparently not able to recover fully from the effects of his hunger fast.

Arvind Kejriwal once a member of Team Anna has not yet given up. He is still going strong. He and his colleagues have launched a political party - Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). They are still gunning for a strong Lokpal bill. and are even willing to contest in the next elections, if necessary.

Other names that stole the limelight and grew in stature during 2012 are Narendra Modi, Akhilesh Yadav.

In Narendra Modi become the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the fourth time. In December he chalked his hat-trick - his third consecutive victory in the Gujarat Assembly polls.It was a big year for Narendra Modi himself when he was praised for the development work that he has done in the state during his tenure.

Narendra Modi's stature grew so much that he has almost become BJP's next Prime Ministerial Candidate for the next General Elections. The General Elections are originally due in 2014, but many political experts have publicly predicted that the nation could go to polls in 2013 itself.

In 2012, Akhilesh Yadav became the youngest Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh when his party ousted Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party. A lot was promised during the elections and a lot is expected from this young Chief Minister.

Intentions behind the censorship controversy of Kapil Sibal

I seriously doubt Kapil Sibal's intentions in wanting to censor the content on social networking sites.

I feel, the government wants to try and control backlash from the people when Anna Hazare launches his next round of protest against the government on the issue of Jan-Lokpal.

After all, it appears that the standing committee will be presenting a draft that will go against he "sentiment of the parliament" that had accepted in principle the points raised by Anna Hazare and his Jan Lokpal Bill. I feel, that he thinks a controversy of this kind will distract the people frequenting these sites.

We shall know the truth by this time tomorrow, when Abhishek Singhvi will have presented the report of the standing committee before the house.

Sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi to meet Rahul Gandhi - Something went wrong!

Positive signs were emerging during the course of the week when news got out that Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary of Congress Party wanted to meet the Sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi, but then something once again went wrong. Apparently the Congress has once again shown that it cannot be trusted.

It seemed that it was the beginning of a new era. It appeared that, Rahul Gandhi the General Secretary of the Congress party had taken initiative and the air was being cleared for more fruitful talks on the Lokpal Bill. After all so much mistrust has crept in between the Congress-led rulers of India and Team Anna over the last few months.

But, then something went awlfully wrong. When Jaisingh Mapari, the Sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi, reached Delhi, he was denied the change to meet Rahul Gandhi. The whole thing once again ended in a big fiasco.

A Congress MP P. T. Thomas who had apparently got the whole act together simply apologized saying that there was some communication gap.

“We feel cheated. Mr. Thomas was in constant touch with us till we reached New Delhi. But after that he told us that he hadn’t promised anything. Today we were told by Rahul Gandhi’s office that there was no appointment. Mr. Thomas has misled us. We never wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi. It was Mr. Thomas who took the initiative after visiting Ralegan Siddhi in August.” said Jaisingh Mapari

On the other hand, P. T. Thomas is saying that the “I told them to send me a letter in this regard, and that I would forward it to Mr. Gandhi’s office. When I received their letter and sent it to Mr. Gandhi, I was told that a meeting will be scheduled at the soonest possible time. However, there was a communication gap and my PA came under the impression that a meeting would be scheduled on October 18, and he informed Mr. Mapari. It is a case of miscommunication and I apologise for it.”

Faced with the two conflicting versions and given the track record of how the Congress has back-tracked on some many issues in the past some time - I feel that I am inclined to believe Jaisingh Mapari's version.

It is surprising how the Congress is managing such goof-ups with such regularity..

Anna Hazare takes the Congress Party head-on

Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign has started becoming an anti-Congress campaign.

Anna had earlier said that he will campaign against the Congress Party in the forthcoming elections if it does not bring in the Jan-Lokpal Bill during the winter session of the parliament.

It seems that he has started a precursor to this in the Hisar parliamentary polls.

It is reported that Anna's aides have left for Hisar with a CD, that has a 10 minute video of Anna's appeal asking the voters to ensure and support only the candidate who is willing to support the Jan Lokpal Bill when and if it is tabled in the parliament during the winter session.

The non-violent anti-corruption crusader Anna is not willing to sit back and trust the Congress party to keep up promises. He apparently feels it necessary to keep up the pressure on the Government, after all as he says he feels cheated by the way the Congress led UPA government has reacted to his anti-corruption campaign right from its beginning.

Judging by the way the people had come out to support Anna's anti-corruption movement in the country,  I feel that the Congress should not take Anna's request for Jan-Lokpal Bill casually. It is time for the nations oldest party to get into damage control mode and take steps to win back public support, after all  it has lost a lot of credibility in the last few months.

Long-live Bapu!

Lage Raho Munnabhai, a film by Raju Hirani - in which a local gangster gets the chance to learn in detail about Mahatma Gandhi. The film acted as a prelude and simply brought back Gandhi-giri into our lives.

Next came Anna Hazare's fast in 2011. The current generation got a first hand taste of Bapu's style of non-violent protest and experienced the power of hunger strike. When Anna Hazare fasted first at Jantar-Mantar and then at Ramlila Maidan, he repeatedly reminded the people not to take to violence. The government had to bow before this Gandhian protestor both times.

Both - Raju Hirani and Anna Hazare - have brought back into our lives the power of Bapu's ideology.

Today is Bapu's 142^nd birth anniversary.

The Anna Hazare agitation

The anti-graft agitation led by Anna Hazare has reached a crucial stage. The fast of the 74-year ex-Army man has entered into its 12th day. According to the doctors overseeing his health he is weakening by the hour. He could be declared critically ill if he his fast is not broken soon.

Looking into the gravity of the situation the government has brought the topic for discussion in the parliament and members of parliament have started discussing the points raised in both the houses - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - and they seem to agree (some conditionally) on all the issues raised by Anna Hazare and his team.

Now, it is the afternoon of 27th August 2008 and by the looks of the way things are moving in Parliament, if there is voting and the parliament votes in line with Annaji's expectations, today could be the last day of his fast, though the agitation is likely to continue until the bill is actually enacted.

Hats of to the team of Anna Hazare

The team of Anna Hazare that has planned the hunger strike campaign deserves a mention.

Hats of to them. I would certainly like to know more about them.
Anna's team has been several steps ahead of the government, so far.

The check-up by Dr. Trehan by the Team of Anna on the night of 17 August 2011 was brilliant strategy. The health of Anna Hazare, was the major factor that the government could have used to deploy force against the campaign. This has been beautifully countered by Team Anna by getting their own doctor to check him up before the government doctors could get to him. The doctor brought in to do this job - Dr. Trehan - is a highly reputed one and someone his government counterparts won't counter very easily.

The government that was basking in the success they enjoyed in crushing the Baba Ramdeo anti-corruption protest has been completely humbled by the Anna Hazare and his team.

Senior Ministers in the Central Government and veteran politicians from the Congress party, Kapil Sibal, P. Chidambaram, Ambika Soni and Manish Tiwari, who have been the face of the government in its attempt to crush Anna's campaign, have repeatedly put the government to shame during the last 3 days, with their statements and arrogance.

Well it is not their mistake, up to now they just had not faced a true crusader who has no personal political ambitions.

When people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Kisan Baburao Hazare raise their voices the nation listens - it is about time our politicians understand this.

Anna Hazare - the crusade against corruption

Rallies, hunger strikes and other forms of peaceful protest against government policies is the constitutional right of every Indian. These along with non-cooperation were the very weapons that Mahatma Gandhi had used successfully against the Britishers.

Is it not the government's job to ensure a good and corruption-free administration for the betterment of its citizens? But, strangely  the Government of India is using its power to stop those who are fighting against corruption.

Now, it has arrested Anna Hazare for wanting to sit on hunger strike in protest against the government's attitude on the Lokpal Bill issue. Earlier, it swooped on Baba Ramdeo's hunger strike in the middle of the night, where the peaceful demonstrators were sleeping. Television news channels have shown the cops using force - lathi charge and tear gas - to evict the protesters.

Does it not appear that the government is using its might to protect the corrupt?