"= A Battle We Must Not Lose " - Pritish Na=dy
Forget Anna Hazare. The Jan Lokpal movement can go to =ell for all I care. Let us just look at the issues over which the battle b=tween the Government and us citizens is being fought. And then let’s dec=de where we want to stand, each one of us, on the issue of corruption. The first question is: Do corruption and bribery hurt you? If they do, =o you want a solution? If your answer is yes to both, do you think such a =olution lies with an independent authority? Or do you think a corrupt Gove=nment can fight corruption on its own, and within its own ranks? If your a=swer is no to that, then we need to create an independent institution to f=ght corruption. Right? Well, that’s precisely what Anna is asking for. H= is asking for a Lokpal that the Government cannot influence nor manipulat=. This is the first battle.
The second battle is over four things. One: Should the Prime Minister c=me under the purview of the Lokpal? Almost everyone I know thinks he shoul=. A honest Prime Minister wouldn’t care. A dishonest one must be supervi=ed. Or else, we will have cases like Bofors that will never ever be resolv=d. Two: Should Members of Parliament come under the Lokpal? I have not met=a single person till date who thinks that our MPs are so honest that they =eed not be supervised. My guess is if a referendum is ever taken, Anna wil= get a 100% yes to this question, given what people think of our politicia=s and the standards of probity in public life. The third question is even =ore obvious: Do all public servants need to come under the Lokpal? My gues= is India’s answer will be yes, yes, yes. Ev=ry day, in every area of our life and work, we are constantly harassed, in=imidated and extorted by corrupt Government officers. The poorer you are, =he worse is the torture. So yes, every public servant, every Government of=icer must come under the Lokpal. Question four: Who should give permission=to file an FIR against a corrupt judge? If the Lokpal can look into corrup=ion charges against the PM, the MPs and
Government servants, isn’t it only logical to expect it to do the same ag=inst judges?
The third and final battle is over an even simpler th=ng: The Citizen’s Charter. Should every Government office have such a Ch=rter which will clearly state which officer will do what work and in how m=ch time? And should an officer who refuses to do his work in time or asks =or a bribe to move a file be punished? The Government says a charter a fin= but Government servants must not be penalised if they don’t do their wo=k! Anna believes that officers not doing their work in time amounts to cor=uption and must face the same treatment. Isn’t it rather obvious whatIndia thinks about this?
Do we really need a referendum on these simple, basic issues? I serious=y doubt it. Every Indian will endorse the idea of a Lokpal as Anna and his=team have envisioned it, with the help of thousands of Indians who have co=tributed online to the process of drafting the bill.
Yes, there are genuine fears that we should not create yet another mons=er out there, who will make life more difficult for us than it already is.=A0But even that has been addressed rather adroitly by Anna’s team. It is=a complex process, true but it also ensures that the choice is wisely made= And what if there are charges against the Lokpal? Well, there’s a provi=ion there too. You can go straight to the Supreme Court and seek justice o=t there.
So why are we arguing so much over this Bill? Why is the Government dig=ing its heels in and refusing to listen to us citizens? Why must Anna go o= a hunger strike all over again to press home the point that corruption mu=t be fought back? I guess it’s a question of both ego and fear. No one l=kes to give up the power they have, and certainly not the Government. In f=ct, it’s always trying to interfere more and more in our lives, grab mor= and more authority, more and more space. And fear? Well, I guess we all k=ow the answer to that. This is possibly the most corrupt Government we hav= ever had. It has good reason to be scared
The second battle is over four things. One: Should the Prime Minister c=me under the purview of the Lokpal? Almost everyone I know thinks he shoul=. A honest Prime Minister wouldn’t care. A dishonest one must be supervi=ed. Or else, we will have cases like Bofors that will never ever be resolv=d. Two: Should Members of Parliament come under the Lokpal? I have not met=a single person till date who thinks that our MPs are so honest that they =eed not be supervised. My guess is if a referendum is ever taken, Anna wil= get a 100% yes to this question, given what people think of our politicia=s and the standards of probity in public life. The third question is even =ore obvious: Do all public servants need to come under the Lokpal? My gues= is India’s answer will be yes, yes, yes. Ev=ry day, in every area of our life and work, we are constantly harassed, in=imidated and extorted by corrupt Government officers. The poorer you are, =he worse is the torture. So yes, every public servant, every Government of=icer must come under the Lokpal. Question four: Who should give permission=to file an FIR against a corrupt judge? If the Lokpal can look into corrup=ion charges against the PM, the MPs and
Government servants, isn’t it only logical to expect it to do the same ag=inst judges?
The third and final battle is over an even simpler th=ng: The Citizen’s Charter. Should every Government office have such a Ch=rter which will clearly state which officer will do what work and in how m=ch time? And should an officer who refuses to do his work in time or asks =or a bribe to move a file be punished? The Government says a charter a fin= but Government servants must not be penalised if they don’t do their wo=k! Anna believes that officers not doing their work in time amounts to cor=uption and must face the same treatment. Isn’t it rather obvious what
Do we really need a referendum on these simple, basic issues? I serious=y doubt it. Every Indian will endorse the idea of a Lokpal as Anna and his=team have envisioned it, with the help of thousands of Indians who have co=tributed online to the process of drafting the bill.
Yes, there are genuine fears that we should not create yet another mons=er out there, who will make life more difficult for us than it already is.=A0But even that has been addressed rather adroitly by Anna’s team. It is=a complex process, true but it also ensures that the choice is wisely made= And what if there are charges against the Lokpal? Well, there’s a provi=ion there too. You can go straight to the Supreme Court and seek justice o=t there.
So why are we arguing so much over this Bill? Why is the Government dig=ing its heels in and refusing to listen to us citizens? Why must Anna go o= a hunger strike all over again to press home the point that corruption mu=t be fought back? I guess it’s a question of both ego and fear. No one l=kes to give up the power they have, and certainly not the Government. In f=ct, it’s always trying to interfere more and more in our lives, grab mor= and more authority, more and more space. And fear? Well, I guess we all k=ow the answer to that. This is possibly the most corrupt Government we hav= ever had. It has good reason to be scared
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