Support Builds up in Bangalore for Hazare's Fast Against Corruption
Bangalore, Apr 7 (IANS): An indefinite fast by a group of people in Bangalore in support of the anti-corruption campaign by social activist Anna Hazare continued for the third day Thursday with more than 300 people gathering to express solidarity.
A crowd collected at Freedom Park in the heart of the city to express support for the four people on fast, one for the third day and the other three for the second day Thursday.
Veteran Kannada theatre personalities like 'Master' Hirannaiah and Bhargavi Narayan joined the protest that started all over India three days back with Anna Hazare taking the lead with his fast-unto-death at New Delhi to demand a role for the civil society in drafting a stringent anti-corruption Lokpal Bill.
In the evening, the protesters are to hold a candlelight vigil against corruption and in support of a strong law to curb growing graft in the country.
The country-wide protest is also supported by religious leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living.
"The Art of Living Foundation and I have always stood with him (Hazare) in his fight against corruption and work in social transformation. He is the voice of millions of Indians and I sincerely hope that the prime minister takes immediate steps to form the joint committee for the Lokpal Bill," Ravi Shankar said in a statement from Germany.
The Bangalore-based Public Affairs Committee, a not-for -profit organization which campaigns for good governance, said it had a written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to 'urgently set up the joint committee to redraft the Lokpal Bill".
"The groundswell of support to Anna Hazare's fast is not only on account of the dissatisfaction with the Lokpal Bill but also because people are fed up with the insensitiveness and corruption in the public services of the country," the letter by PAC founder Samuel Paul said. The letter was released to the media.
Former chief justice of India M.N. Venkatachalaiah is the chairperson of PAC board of directors.
Anna Hazare Phenomenon Unites India on Corruption
by Florine Roche
Daijiworld Media Network
April 7, 2011: It has become a craze for people especially for politicians in India to quote and talk about Mahatma Gandhi and what he stood for but it required a noted social activist and Gandhian Anna Hazare to coalesce people of all hues, through his Gandhian method of fast-unto-death against corruption at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi from April 5, 2011.
Anna Hazare is demanding passing of the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted through a civil society initiative rather than the truncated version of the Lok Pal bill in its present form. He has been demanding setting up of a joint committee with 50 per cent representation for citizens and 50 percent for the government for formulation of a strong Lok Pal Bill which has been languishing in the parliament since 1968. Anna Hazare has rejected an appeal from Prime Minister and is bent upon continuing with his fast until the government comes out with a full-fledged anti-corruption bill. Anna Hazare who is on his third day of the fast says he is ready for a dialogue if the government and if Union Minister Kapil Sibal is to be believed the government is willing to look into the demands of the agitators.
This fast-unto-death by Anna Hazare is becoming a movement with masses including the youth and the students taking to streets in different parts of the country in support of Anna Hazare. The first casualty of his movement is that Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar has backed out from the Group of Ministers (GoM) that is drafting the bill on corruption after Hazare and his supporters pointed out the shady past of Paward vis-à-vis corruption. The movement therefore, is going in the right trajectory but that is going to stop the activists from going ahead with their struggle till the goal is achieved in what is rightly termed as the second struggle for freedom – freedom from corruption.
Massive Support
72-year old Anna Hazare’s fast-unto-death assumes significance especially at a time when corruption charges of gigantic proportions have erupted against ministers, politicians and their cahoots, bureaucrats and many others at the centre as well as in many states. Under this background Anna Hazare’s demand for a comprehensive anti-corruption bill to bring the corrupt to book has certainly caught the eyeballs of all concerned citizens who loathe the extent to which graft has made inroads in each and every aspect of our lives. It is matter of gratification that in this fight against corruption Hazare has been supported and joined by scores of people including reformist Swami Agnivesh, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Baba Ramdev, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal, Justice D S Tewatia activist Mallika Sarabhai and public leader Sandip Pandey and thousands of common people including students, housewives, organizations, business groups and tinsel town celebrities, including Amir Khan, Anupam Kher, Mahesh Manjrekar, is indeed laudable.
The youth of this country, a mighty force, who have been silent and more cynical until now, have given the movement the required impetus and they have been very vocal in voicing their anger and frustration. This movement has also struck a right chord among Indians abroad also and is sure to put the government on the saddle, especially at a time when the 5 states are going for polls this month.
In Delhi where Hazare is on a fast supporters held banners and it is believed that six lakh people have vouched their support through a signature campaign to the fight against corruption spearheaded by Hazare and the number is only swelling. What is more, support for Hazare is not confined to Delhi alone. In Mumbai activists of ‘India Against Corruption’ also sat on fast at Azad Maidan in support of Hazare. Several others have pledged support through text messages and mails. In Mumbai it is believed that about 30,000 people have registered on the website to join the hunger strike. More than 160 people, most of them commoners, have joined Anna Hazare in his fast and the number is sure to swell as the movement is becoming a nationwide stir. Support from public has also come in from Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and 400 other cities of the country.
Of course many politicians and political parties have jumped into the bandwagon showing solidarity with Hazare but Hazare has steadfastly refused to share the dais with them. For Hazare it is obvious that these political parties have an axe to grind as their support has more to do with the political mileage they want to accrue by cornering the ruling government rather than their disquiet over growing corruption.
Lok Pal vs Jan Lok Pal
The Lok Pal that aimed at bringing the Prime Minister’s office and ministers under the purview of an anti-corruption ombudsman was first introduced in 1968 but has been rehashed, reintroduced and abandoned several times e 8 times since then, to be precise. But the bill has never been passed by the parliament in the last 4 decades. The bill is supposed to provide enough powers for people to bring to book corrupt politicians and their cronies and bureaucrats.
The government which is now trying to introduce the bill in the parliament is too weak as it gives no powers for the people to act against the corrupt and those who go after lucre. It is riddled with umpteen loopholes, thus nullifying the very purpose of introducing the bill. It will be another toothless organization because the bill envisages the Lok Pal cannot take up any complaint against MP’s on its own without obtaining a clearance from the Speaker. Lok Pal has no power to act if it finds the accused guilty but has to send it to the Speaker for action, which is not binding on the Speaker. In other worlds the bills only aims to make mockery of the people who want to put a full stop to the massive corruption pervading the country.
Considering the evasiveness of the bill an alternative bill Jan Lok Pal Bill was drafted by civil rights group comprising Justice Santhosh Hegde (Lokayukta of Karnataka), Senior Supreme Court Advocate Prashant Bhushan and Aravind Kejriwal after series of consultations with public and social activists. This bill has been supported by Anna Hazare and his band of supporters and they are now demanding the implementation of this tougher bill drafted by the civil rights groups.
The Prime Minister is of course caught in a catch 22 situation and has set up a sub-committee under minister A K Antony to have a relook at the bill. On an earlier occasion when Hazare and his supporters had met the Prime Minister he had offered to pass on their suggestions to group of ministers (GoM) drafting the bill. But these activists disapprove this move because (GoM) consists of Ministers like Sharad Pawar who is mired in corruption himself, Veerappa Moily, (who is responsible for drafting a weak Lok Pal bill and Kapil Sibal who famously said he did not see any revenue loss in 2G Spectrum case or rather feigns innocence as if the word corruption is alien to him. So one can imagine what changes or suggestions this (GoM) would have been able to incorporate in the bill considering the fact that many of them are facing corruption charges against them.
For long, Indian politicians and bureaucrats have looted the people of this country with impunity. We have seen some of the biggest scandals in the recent past involving not one or two crores but lakhs of crores. It is believed that the scandals unearthed so far are only a tip of the iceberg.
Anna Hazare with his Gandhian method of protest has certainly dovetailed Indians with the common cause of rooting out corruption. This protest has certainly found resonance in every nook and corner which is an indication of the maturing of our democracy. It also shows that if citizens unite for a common cause, they can certainly bring about a revolution and make it clear to the politicians that in a democracy it is the voice of the people that matters and not that of the miniscule minority ministers who burgeon their wealth and lead a easy life at the cost of tax payers. Hazare has now provided that momentum to Indians, who have been on the look out for someone to lead them in the right direction. Mahatma Gandhi could move the mighty British out of India by non-violent methods with the support of the masses. Anna Hazare united Indians with his Gandhian method of protest in his crusade against corruption.