Karnataka Youths Vow to Support Hazare on Anti-graft Law
Bangalore, May 28 (IANS): About 5,000 people, a majority of them youths, braved a hot and humid Saturday afternoon to extend support to social activist Anna Hazare for enacting a stringent anti-graft Lokpal bill.
Responding to Hazare’s call at a public meeting at the sprawling National College grounds in this tech hub to join his "second freedom struggle" against corruption in the country, the entire audience vowed to fast-unto-death with him if the bill was not enacted.
Clarifying that a stringent anti-graft law at the central level would lead to the setting up of stronger Lok Ayuktas (ombudsmen) in the states, Hazare said the proposed bill would have provisions to facilitate the creation of similar institutions with powers to book, prosecute and convict the corrupt at the local level.
“As you may be aware, the anti-corruption movement is committed to ensure that the Lokpal bill is not only drafted and introduced in the monsoon session of parliament in July, but also passed to become law by the Independence Day Aug 15,” Hazare said evoking thunderous applause.
He expressed gratitude to the people of Karnataka, especially the youths from the tech-savvy world, for their spontaneous and overwhelming response to the anti-corruption movement.
Hazare said once the Lokpal institution was set up, citizens from every local body (panchayat), district, city and state could prepare a list of 50 most corrupt politicians and officials who could be charged, prosecuted and convicted for a minimum of two-year jail term.
“As members of the joint panel to draft the Lokpal bill, we have made several suggestions to the government to empower the Lokpal to also recover the bribe amount collected by the guilty and the loss caused to the exchequer,” Hazare said, addressing the audience in chaste Hindi.
At the same time, the 73-year-old activist urged the people to remain vigilant and ready to make sacrifice, as the corrupt and powerful politicians and officials were hell bent on delaying the bill and diluting its penal powers.
“The long struggle against monumental corruption and maladministration has just begun. We have a long way to go. All kinds of attempts are being made by the tainted politicians and officials to derail the exercise and buy time," he said.
"Having initiated the movement with the support of the ordinary people like you, the civil society and spirited men and women from across the country, I assure you that we will not let the government, politicians and officials to hold up the bill on one pretext or the other,” Hazare said.
Besides Hazare, Karnataka Lokayuktha Justice N. Santosh Hegde, former union law minister Shanti Bhushan, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan and rights activist Arvind Kejriwal are members of the joint panel to draft the bill.
The panel has Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as its chairman and other government representatives include Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.
The panel has met thrice over the last four weeks and is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the contentious issues of bringing the prime minister and the top judiciary under the Lokpal institution.
Earlier, social activist Swami Agnivesh, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Kiran Bedi and Kejriwal addressed the audience and highlighted the salient features of the proposed bill.