Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Why does government want to stop Anna's fast on Lokpal ?

Last time when Anna went on fast the government was caught unawares.The unprecedented support to Anna's movement against corruption made the government to extend the olive branch, since few states were going to polls.The government offered to have a dialogue with Anna's team, in the hope that the temporary respite would make Anna and team to reconcile, once a joint committte is formed to draft the bill. But Anna proved a hard nut to crack or to buckle under pressure. Government tried all possible tricks.To start with, they maligned the Civil society team.But it did not carry conviction with the general public.They tried to stagemanage another fast by Baba Ramdev and unfortunatley it backfired on the government with the police mishandling the Baba Ramdev agitation.Finally the government said Team Anna is undermining the parliament,which is supreme and only parliament can draft bills.They went to the extend of saying Team Anna is blackmailing the government to pass a bill to the whims and fancies of five individuals.Technically the government may be right,that only parliament has the right to enact bills and not a handful of individuals.But the government has not read the pulse of the public and the mood of the nation .After all the MP's are representatives of the voters.Finally government managed to place on the table of the house,their version of the lokpal bill that does not include PM,Judiciary,and beuracrats.If the government's intention is to enact a bill to prevent corruption,why should they exclude them ?When Congress spokeperson Ambica sony asked if Anna can guarantee corruption would end once lokpal bill is passed,shows they want to enact a bill without any conviction .This shows motive of the government is not to enact a bill that would stem corruption in this nation. They have merely unwillingly submitted themselves to the pressures to enact a bill to save their face.This explains why passage of this bill was deferred 8 times for the last 42 years .The government must understad Anna and team is reflecting the mood of the nation.It is apolitical.The general public is disgusted with widespread corruption and the government's inability to bring out a strong lokpal bill.On one side the PM in his independence day address says the government is committed to enact a strong Lokpal bill.In the same breath PM says corruption can not be stopped by fasting,in a vieled attack on Anna .But the draft committee from government side rejects all stringent provisions and congress spokespersons doubts the efficay of Lokpal bill to stem corruption. Why this contradictions?These contradictions brings out the fact that the government does not want a strong Lokpal bill.When Anna threatened to go on an indefenite fast from august 16th ,this time government wanted to preempt Anna from going on fast and mobilise public support once again.The bitter lessons learned over quelling Baba Ramdev's agitation made the government to react differently this time. The government first refused permission for the venue of Team Anna's choice.Later they gave conditional permission for an alternative site and imposed 22 conditions.Team Anna rejected 6 conditions .Police promulgated section 144 and detained Anna and team,even before they could start the fast,on the hope this would make the fast lose its steam and fizzle out.Sadly the government is ill advised once again and has taken a wrong step forward.Last time the government was forced to relent on Lokpal bill by Team Anna .My surmise is that goverment has unwittingly triggered another popular uprise of the Indian people against corruption and the UPA government.Anna and team had foreseen the government move .Anna said even if he is arrested he would continue his fast in jail.The government must realise the bottomline for the agitators is a mechanism that would deal with corruption effectively.The detention of Team Anna and the protestors would only snowball in to a bigger movement.I am at a loss to understand ,why the government should be so insensitive,to an issue that can rock their boat.The country was put to shame by huge scams in 2010.Even after such revelatons,the government is shamelessly trying to espouse the cause of the corrupt lot by pleading for a weak lokpal bill.It is hightime the government understands the mood of the nation and acts prudently.I read somewhere 'intolerance is the curse of every state '.Unfortunatley UPA government is trying to prove this statement right.I wish the government knows the Wayne Dyer Quote "Everything you are against weakens you. Everything you are for empowers you."

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