India is in the midst of its ‘second freedom struggle’. Time has come for us to liberate ourselves from this evil power forcefully ruling over us innocent, law abiding, disciplined, incorruptible citizens. Wah Sarkar here lists a bunch of facts related to various aspects & the main protagonists of this ‘second freedom struggle’.
No conclusions are drawn from the facts stated below. The interpretation of these facts is completely open to the reader.
Fact 1
Anna Hazare is responsible for complete societal transformation of his village Ralegaon Siddhi. This transformation includes a ban on alcohol, tobacco& cigarettes. An instance of Hazare’s method – A few days after when three men returned to Ralegaon drunk after a binge in a nearby village, Hazare had them tied to the temple pillars and personally flogged (beat with a whip/stick to punish or torture) them with his army belt.
Fact 2
Prashant Bhushan & Shanti Bhushan, the father & son duo who are at the fore front of Anna’s team are established & successful lawyers in their own right. There was a controversy regarding plots of land allotted to the Bhushans in Uttar Pradesh. Here is what Shanti Bhushan said in response to the controversy – “My son and I were among the applicants and we were surprised when we got the allotment letters. I agree there is no transparency in the scheme and allotments have been made without any clear criterion. But why should we challenge this? The people who applied and were not given the farmland should challenge it. I have heard that bribes have passed hands for these allotments but, obviously, not from us. There may be a case for a scheme like this to be cancelled.”
Incidentally the duo also represented civil society in the Lokpal committee. In this committee they were the bastions of transparency.
Fact 3
Anna Hazare is a social reformer who has for years been working selflessly for the masses. In recent times the government has been trying to malign him. However, Anna does have proven charges of corruption against him. These charges are related to an illegal expenditure of Rs 2.2 lakh from the funds of Hind Swaraj Trust for the birthday celebrations of Anna Hazare. Justice P.B.Sawant, who commissioned the enquiry, has this to say about Anna – “What I probed was certainly a case of corruption. But Hazare accepted that it was a mistake, so he can certainly go ahead with the agitation.”
Fact 4
Anna Hazare leads an alliance that is “an expression of collective anger of people of India against corruption”. Through is agitations in April, Hazare managed to convince the government to allow civil society on to the drafting committee of the Lokpal bill.
All 5 civil society representatives in the Lokpal panel were chosen from the same alliance.
Incidentally the National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information & the National Advisory Council also have versions of the Lokpal bill formed by personnel as competent as those in Team Anna.
Fact 5
Baba Ramdev is a core member of Anna Hazare’s alliance. Baba Ramdev went on his own hunger strike against Black Money stashed away abroad by Indians. Currently the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), are seeking financial details about an island in Scotland gifted to Ramdev and undisclosed overseas financial transactions by
Ramdev amounting to $3 lakh. At least six companies run by the trusts associated with Baba Ramdev allegedly received funds from numerous overseas locations. Besides this, 40 companies with whom Balkrishna, a close aide of Baba Ramdev, is allegedly associated with are already under the scanner of the income-tax department and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). The income-tax department and other Central agencies are investigating how Baba’s aide Balkrishna became the operational head of 27 companies formed in 2009. CBI has already registered a case against Balkrishna on the charge of getting his passport made by submitting forged university documents.
Fact 6
Team Anna wish for the judicial system of the country to come under the Lokpal since the judiciary also has a history of corruption and hence cannot be trusted. However according to Team Anna’s version of the Lokpal bill citizens can complain about Lokpal in Supreme Court.
Fact 7
We are all aware that the government has refused to include the Prime Minister under the Lokpal. However here is the status of the 2 versions of the bill with regard to NGOs.
Team Anna – Only government funded NGOs must come under Lokpal
Government – All NGOs, trusts, movements, big or small & even unregistered, whether government funded or not must come under Lokpal.
For eg. – Team Anna’s alliance would also come under the Lokpal according to the government but NOT according to Team Anna
Fact 8
Hundreds of bills are listed for the monsoon session of the parliament. These bills include those related to health, education & child rights. Every day that the parliament is stalled. so are reforms in these areas.
Historically, civil society has successfully engaged with parliament & parliamentary committees to stall & modify bills without hunger strikes.
Fact 9
The Lokpal envisaged by Team Anna would include all Public Servants. It is estimated that for such coverage, the Lokpal would need a staff of around 50,000 (conservative estimate). That means around 50,000 government officers would be employed under the Lokpal. Incidentally all these people would come from the existing ‘’corrupt’’ system.
Fact 10
Irom Sharmilla has been on a hunger strike for more than a decade against the Armed Forces Special Protection Act. For the first six years of her protest Sharmila was under arrest in a single room in JN hospital in Imphal. In the hospital she was force fed with tubes. On being released, she would stop eating and get arrested for attempted suicide and be dumped back into the hospital. She escaped to Delhi in 2006. She camped for three days in Jantar Mantar like Anna. On the fourth day she was arrested for attempting suicide and admitted in AIIMS with tubes stuck down her nose.
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References http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/team-anna-hazare-consists-of-maoists-fascists-anarchists-congress/articleshow/9607237.cms http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/agencies-tighten-noose-ramdev-452 http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/ http://www.box.net/shared/l5okarpc3l3btzk6ore8 http://incident2day.blogspot.com/2011/04/bhushans-got-two-farmhouse-plots-from.html http://realitycheck.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/lokpal-bhushans-get-10000-sq-mt/ http://www.readersdigest.co.in/anna-hazare http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ed-sniffs-out-ramdevs-secret-transactions_1574020
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haha… shows how scared people are of any change and want the status quo to be maintained. Such paranoid and manipulative posts will only have “manish tiwari” effect on people. Go Anna!
hi why do you have to misinterpret a good suggestion to a cause!!
@46bc9337bb71c8f9c0922a32bfadf57c:disqus True. Anna & team is beyond defamation! Anyone who defames them must be brought under Lokpal.Citizens of India DEMAND this. right?
At least i expect you to be coherent and objective. But then emotions always compromise objectivity.
Yes Mehraj, you are right. Saint Anna and divine Team Anna are beyond the clutches of corruption.
That is why the first 25lacs came from a JINDAL co.If this is not blackmail,what is?They will turn out to be worse than TALIBAN,as they are not willing to listen to another point of view!
We researched article to defame Team Anna.He should write also about Kapil Sibal
@0d33c580e8d4175f915c0882ab9c1f9b:disqus Most other posts int he blog are about the Government
nice article to fool people , good work done, please keep writng these kind of Bull S—t , we dont care a Damn.
@cd41caece18f8f681275002287810d60:disqus Thanks for the comment.
“Naam, Namak, Nishan”….this is the most opportune time to form the
‘Anna Party’ in all the states of like minded people and
intellectual/professional…so that in the next election this party has a
sweeping majority and rules the country .This Anna party can give good
governance and a corrupt free INDIA.We have had a lot of dynastic rule.
Let the common man rule the country and solve the problem of ‘roti,
kapra aur makan’ forever and make INDIA a poverty free country.INDIA is
for the common man and everybody for that matter.
“Naam, Namak, Nishan”….this is the most opportune time to form the
‘Anna Party’ in all the states of like minded people and
intellectual/professional…so that in the next election this party has a
sweeping majority and rules the country .This Anna party can give good
governance and a corrupt free INDIA.We have had a lot of dynastic rule.
Let the common man rule the country and solve the problem of ‘roti,
kapra aur makan’ forever and make INDIA a poverty free country.INDIA is
for the common man and everybody for that matter.
@38241698db759640c2b23291fb87d7fc:disqus – Yes, that is a good suggestion.
Actually after freedom some of the families who have ruled India through
Congress party are enjoying royalty like privy purses before the
independence. Mahatma Gandhi’s family doesn’t enjoy this privilege
though he was at the forefront of the independent movement.It is high
time these families should stop getting the extra privileges. They
should also become commoners and earn their bread and butter though
services and hard work.Otherwise what is the meaning of democracy? Is it
to create a privileged class who are always on the top? This is not the
meaning of true democracy.The government of the day is fearful of
disclosing the Swiss bank account holders because many of these
privileged dynastic families would fall into the bait.So the
dilemma…………..eh?
@38241698db759640c2b23291fb87d7fc:disqus This is absolutely correct. However it is not related to Anna or Janlokpal. Here are a few posts written by us on the same:https://www.wahsarkar.com/2011/08/baap-beta-pvt-ltd-indias-political-dynasties/
https://www.wahsarkar.com/2011/05/saare-jaha-se-accha-gandhistan-humara/
Prashant Bhushan would not want his NGO s under the scanner because most of them are frauds and only used for money laundering!Kiran Bedi and Kejriwals NGO s receive million for their NGOS.The first thing that the govt. should do is make them accountable!
“Scope”, do you understand the word and its implications?
By including millions of NGOs govt just wants to increase the scope of lokpal
to such an extent that would leave them with little resources to deal
with govt. corruption.
When you are starting out at something you go step by step to make it
happen or else failure is inevitable. I’d rather as a first step go by
Anna&Team’s version as in his day to day life common man has to deal
with govt. officials not NGO officials. Corruption @ govt. offices is a
bigger pain for the common man. Common man needs to get water
connection, get electricity connection, get
passport, get gas connection, get birth and death certificates, get
ration card, get property registered, get affidavits made, execute POAs,
and so on…. common man does not every other day deal with
NGOs. I never had to deal with any NGO till now and hence I do not
consider them such a pain.
Only when we have brought down corruption in Govt. offices to a certain
level, I’ll crusade for all the NGOs to be included in Lokpal’s scope.
@twitter-71318122:disqus Your point does make sense. However it does smack of hypocrisy. We are okay with a monstrous institution of 50,000-1 lakh but feel then say that logistics will be a problem.
According to the most conservative government estimates, our country has more than 3.3 million NGOs. This means that there is an NGO for every 400 people in India. There are more NGOs than primary schools and primary health centres in the country. In fact civil society workers can often get away with zero accountability just by stating that they are part of a ‘mass movement’ thereby avoiding any answer-ability. Does the common man have to deal with the PM 7 higher judiciary on a daily basis?
Some of your ‘facts’ are mere allegations which have not been proven. Watch this video of Arvind Kejriwal speak to understand this issue better
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CHcKlIsvAQ and this http://www.firstpost.com/politics/anna-was-an-afterthought-in-anti-corruption-crusade-62635.html for a brief history of this movement and how Anna Hazare came into the picture
@chupchap:disqus If you could point out which ones are wrong we could change them.
The only 2 facts which would have meant something and stirred the minds of the people are FACT 7 and FACT 10… but they are overshadowed by those which are of little significance and goes against the movement, like Anna beating some drunk guys in his Village… which is perfectly alright in views of the public and like a 2.2 lakh SCAM! Man! That is HUGE! Justice Sawant already said, it was irregularity in the maintaining the account of his NGO not any kind of GABAN. So this is perhaps the worst article of Wah Sarkar.
U gotta find some other solid facts if u want people to fight over the facts on leaving an open interpretation….
Puneet, writer of the article:
1) is of the view that if once in your life you have commited a mistake you loose your right to stand up for anything right.
2) has never committed any mistake even in his past lives.
3) will never committed any mistake even in his future lives.
4) is of the view that if once in your life you have commited a mistake
you should be tattooed on forehead with the details of the crime.
@twitter-71318122:disqus
1) This is your view.
2) Ok
3) If you say so
4) This is your view
@facebook-1025001535:disqus Maybe you find 7 & 10 of significance. Another may find flogging drunk people of significance. Anyway there is nothing wrong with petty corruption & fascist ideas. Big Deal.
if you are interested in 2.2 lakh scam, which dont you write about lakh of crore scam done by Raja and Kalmadi….
@9f7a0c4498c99a3c64ccb91213c7ddbf:disqus Most other posts are about the government & many are also about corruption
What a piece of crap! Is this because folks like you who write/speak in chaste English can not get 1/1,00,000th of the followers in your blog’s lifetime that Anna’s team has got in 72 hours? The common thread amongst the arm-chairWallahs like Wah Sarkar, OffStumped, Acorn et al is to by always cynical and derogatory towards any agitation that has been built grounds up. This agitation is a good wake up call for the ’eminent’ bloggers, who are always in their fantacy world, as much as it is to the corrupt politicans.
@f5da347262c2f92a37aba289ba495142:disqus Yes yes. We are jealous of Anna’s Facebook following which is why we write this. You’ve caught us!
Mate, why fool yourself? The numbers of folks who are on the street supporting this agitation is far greater than the facebook fans.
There is an uncanny similarity between your blog and NDTV- Burkha’s blurb on the agitation. Coincidence?
I think you are too accustomed to the virtual blog-world as you count the support in terms of facebook fans.. Get well soon.
@b3cde8a138ce4d6b498176a04cb71c41:disqus Look at the numbers in point 1 here child https://www.wahsarkar.com/2011/06/annanomics-an-analysis-of-india%E2%80%99s-hunger-strike-industry/
Maybe this will give you an understanding of the depth of the country. Also, few hundreds/thousands were there in Gujarat in 2001 in Delhi in 1984 & there are many more in every political rally. That doesn’t mean that a mob of a few 1000 becomes right just by their existence.
It seems that you keep coming back here for some sort of direction. This is a ”blog”. Do some research on what a blog is. You’ll not find solutions for world peace here. Light a candle for that!
Find out how many of this unruly lot will go and vote on election day,and you will have your answer!
black rock…Angrezi mein bolun toh teri toh acche se maar lee yaar
In this post…, u hv used the people’s background to show why jan lokpal bill shouldn’t be supported. Go 1 by 1 on the points that govt. bill contains and the Anna’s bill contain., tabularly.., they try to compare both.
The real issue is not the people connected with the movement.., the real issue is the movement.. But sadly.., u hv concentrated the movement only to defame civil society. U r requested to also mention t the end of every para that the people are also Magsaysay award winners. and award giving authority is not Indian but International.
I hope the way u deleved out the histrionics of civil society memerbs,.. u would dothe same of everty MP and MLA sitting right now in the parliament. I bet ur post will drying down just in mentioning the crimes in which our MLA & MPs are charged sheeted.!! Not to mention don’t take the garb of SO CALLED PARLIAMENTRARY DEMOCRACY.!!!KIND STUFF!!!.
Now the critics, can given the house of criminals the authority to pass laws but not the very own civil society members..!!! The parliamentarians will use every fork and knife to call themselvs supreme by calling parliament supreeme, basically hiding behind the constituiional oratory.!!
My friend,… do once try going and meeting ur MLA and MP…, asking him why a particular road is not built., why basic facilities is not provided.., the chances will be that either he will give u lots of false assurances.., or kick u out of ur butt!!.
DO U CALL THIS UPHOLDING OF CONSTITUTIOHN.??? & when Anna does a fast to bring these fellows to book by making these people responsible not only to parliament…., but to people directly.!! whats wrong.!!, I think the embryo of the matter is totally diluted by concentrating the talk to select34d few… fortunately agsint whome,, the weapons of mass destruction is also adequate with teh govt.!!!
Govt. trying to draw break betwwen the civl society and the common people by making the backgorund of people an issues.~!!!.. We shud not fall into prey>!!
I totally disagree with this post as a mere smear campaign rather than analysing upon the bill which is a real issue!!! Sorry to read this from an apolitical person.!!
@eeb272e8281279b2c539b9c889f39469:disqus
– Magsaysay awardee winners?? Do a bunch of Filipinos have a more important say in India than its electorate?
– Yes, the MPs/MLAs have far more heinous crimes so we should ignore anything wrong done by self appointed civil society. In fact we should probably create a threshold which says what level of crime is ok with us.
– This Anna campaign was to do with corruption & not replacing the parliament. It has now been reduced to that. Our Magsaysay award winning bunch of experts with a few 1000 candle light marchers behind them are superior to an elected government. Will the Lokpal feed me, educate my kids & provide me with jobs? ? What is the context of this argument?
– India is not Delhi and Delhi is not India. India is not Delhi & Delhi is not India. India is not Delhi & Delhi is not India.
I was hearing Bhusan the Junior speak the other day, and he was lambasting the Standing Committee for having Laloo and Amar Singh in it and it struck me that the Jan Lok Pal drafting committee had Shanti and Prashant Bhusan in it who are equally shady and not to forget the iron lady who let off Charles Shobraj and got her daughter admitted through backdoors in North East. Spade is a spade is a spade for everyone. It cannot become something else for Civil Society. Just imagine the Heights of Corruption by the Delhi Police it is not acting on my complaint wrt Hoolaganism on the roads of delhi with youngsters tripple riding on their mobikes with flags in hand and disrupting the traffic in the name of Anna.
I think there is a lack of education among those who r not understanding the jan lokpal bill and hence picking out issues which r either totally irrelevant or agaisnt which arguments are galore, and which fortunately again and again removeed by the civil society activitis.., in various debates , meetings.. etc.!! But instead going into teh details.., they jst pick things from surface.., and hurl it.!!
@eeb272e8281279b2c539b9c889f39469:disqus Anyway how can civil society be wrong about anything? They are perfect & beyond question. Anyone who questions them is himself corrupt. Take to the streets an CRY revolution and watch the magic unfurl..
But what do you have to presume that Civil Society MUST be wrong on this issue? Have to done comparative analysis for the bill proposed by Anna’s team with that proposed by the Congress coterie?
Atleast someone is taking to the streets and giving real cries rather than being all-time paper/blog tigers living in the fantasy land!
@f5da347262c2f92a37aba289ba495142:disqus I assume by Civil Society you mean Team Anna. In reality civil society is much bigger & not always on the same page as Team Anna (surprise surprise!). Some reasons for disagreement with Team Anna’s version are given here.
Unfortunately crying revolution doesn’t bring it. Anyway you can pat yourself on your back and feel proud for being anarchist & ‘cool’. Meanwhile you can keep waiting & pining your hopes on 1 fanciful bill which no one in their right minds will table in parliament. Could be a long wait. Good Luck!
I do not understand a)who has appointed these charlatans the sole representatives of civil society!I do not believe in them,does that make me uncivil.b)These self appointed guardians should use their time for doing something useful!
God made Anna and his band of civil society warriors and then destroyed the mould!Everybody else is second class!Please read todays Business Standard where in it tells you how there is not one Dalit in this team and how so many havenots have also been excluded!It is a very interesting article without any bias.
@facebook-753332710:disqus Yes, but that doesn’t stop them from claiming to represent the people. If Team Anna is anyway so confident of their public support, superiority in ideas thought & action, they should just topple the govt in the next election & come to power. Then run the country however they want!
Shit & shit. I can understand why u r writing this.
Congratulations!!
I really liked that Anna personally flogged drunkards, herein the same has to be done to our top political governing officials too.
Flogging is going on by the public in full view why not write about them too.
@e0521c527f504a2a313f840169207bac:disqus Most other posts in the blog are on the govt.
1. If Anna has done
anything wrong in his village, are they fool still supporting him? They must be
benifited in long term, thats why they respect him.
2. If Bushans are indulged in all wrong things.
People should come forward in to get behind the bars. They themselves are
saying that it was surprising for them. But how can someone say to file a case
against himself? Why dont people go themselves upfront then?
3. A congress man spent 250 crores in his
daughter’s marriage , and there was no enquiry for that. From where did the
money came and how can someone spent so money in any function?
4. And why cant we have every person in committee
who has really worked for nation and not for himself. Kiran Bedi kept herself
away from committee membership. Can’t she go and misuse it, but no she wants
people to see that they are really working for nation and not for themselves
5. Apart from
Balakrishna, if someone is ready to be inspected for every thing, whats wrong
in that. Baba Ramdev has recieved much in donations and earned much from his
companies. Where was everyone when sleeping people were busted with sticks,
there were old age people and ill people in that ground. They were made to run
in night, why noone thought where will they in night? noone has to enquire about
that.
6. Thats very true, there are people like me who
only trust Supreme Court. I know about a number of cases where court was baised
to someone just because they have power. If Judiciary at lower level can be
under Lokpal, they can be tracked and if Lokpal is wrong they can be charged in
Supreme Court. Thats sounds exactly fair.
7. This is OK from government side . Everyone
should be under Lokpal. But this will also increase much burden on Lokpal.
8. We have 70% of Politicians in Parliament are
engaged in various corrupt activities then why would they pass a strong bill
against corruption. So we need to work harder than them.9. In this, system has
to elect the people having strong honest past with them and they public
servants also know the loop holes of the system. So they can work right from
the begning unlikely to otheres who will come and learn first. Thus they will
be productive from the very first day.
10. Exactly, I know her case and the one thing she
lacked is your, my and media support. Politicians were not listening to her and
we were not supporting her. But that was your, mine, media and politicians
support. And noone single could be held responsible for this.
Wahsarkar,
1) Are you guys completely against LOKPAL or do you believe there can be some sort of dialogue between the government and team Anna to create a bill of equal satisfaction?
2) Do you believe it is possible to change policies and procedures of the existing institutions to strengthen anti-corruption laws through protests by the common man?
3) What sort of strategy would you propose to tackle corruption at the grassroots and the big-ticket corruption scandals that emerge twice almost every decade?
1) Team Anna has already screwed up the chance they had by being on the panel. However surely the standing committee can still consult civil society. However civil society also includes others apart from the Anna alliance.
2) Yes. However assuming that Civil society represents the common man in these protests then civil society can not have a complete & ultimate say in formation of legislation. This is what Anna team currently want. The parliament & not the streets need to have authority.
3) Probably the Lokpal would help big ticket corruption. There are some well formed opinions on this on these links:
http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2011/08/14/faq-why-is-anna-hazare-wrong-and-lok-pal-a-bad-idea/
http://t.co/el4pzFD
According to team Anna, specifically Arvind Kejriwal, the panel members from the government were completely uncooperative while discussing the bill. Apparently, they did not indulge in discussions and only pronounced the conclusions after rounds of monologues by the panel members from the “civil society”.
Arvind Kejriwal also said they conducted a number of referendums while drafting the bill for inputs to the bill. They even have a platform on their website where people can come in with their ideas. Yes, admittedly, they had not created awareness among the public at the time.
Will you give these guys your support to this team now, when there is so much awareness, if they reached out to the public to generate ideas on creating strong anti-corruption laws, be it through LOKPAL or existing institutions? Of course i am assuming these ideas will be shared with the standing committee.
Without the people protesting in the streets, i dont think the parliament would ever pass a bill that ensures strong anti-corruption laws. Wouldn’t you give credit to team Anna for the initiative and providing a common channel for the people of India to express their displeasure?
@36d64125e5b406b0e7a06ba0b585331c:disqus Agreed they must have been un coopertive. But what about Kejriwal? Every 2 days he would threaten to walk out of the meeting and go to the press & cakk it Joke-Pal.
Yes, surveys were conducted. India has an internet penetrability of around 3% and surveys were conducted for a few thousand by Anna team themselves & they called it a referendum. Even if we ignore all this, if you conducted a survey after the 26/11 blasts asking if we should bomb Pakistan, what result would you have got? If you conduct a survey to ask if Kasab should have been hung without a trial what result would you have got? Sentiments of a few 1000 doesn’t make anything right. Otherwise riots in Gujarat & killing of Sikhs in Delhi would also be justified based on ”support from 100s”
People came to the streets in April. The govt took cognizance of that created a panel with Anna Team. Now when the bill is under discussion, why protest? What will happen in 15 days?
Yes, i agree, Team Anna has hardly reached out to the public while drafting the bill. Drafting a LOKPAL bill definitely requires a lot more time than what Team Anna has put in.
Their demands, currently, are short of complete insanity where they are asking the government to pass the bill in the next 15 days. However, i do hope the Jan Lokpal bill is atleast tabled in the parliament. The reason for this is so that the standing committee can also use this draft to create/modify the government’s draft. You must also admit that the government’s bill does a miserable job in strengthening the existing laws and also has a disincentive for any citizen wanting to lodge a complaint.
Bashing team Anna and their means does not help the ends. As i see it, the initiative by team Anna will atleast encourage the middle class of India, some of whom are taking to the streets and many who are watching on television, to improve their awareness of issue facing out country and encourage them to vote. Or, atleast, i hope
@36d64125e5b406b0e7a06ba0b585331c:disqus We are free to bash the govt for their ineptitude. And we are free to bash Hazare for his. Why should there be a difference? Varun Gandhi does plan to table Anna’s JanLokPal bill next week. Whether the BJP truly believes in Anna’s bill or whether it is just a political gimmick to woo Anna supporters remains to be seen.
@36d64125e5b406b0e7a06ba0b585331c:disqus We are free to bash the govt for their ineptitude. And we are free to bash Hazare for his. Why should there be a difference? Varun Gandhi does plan to table Anna’s JanLokPal bill next week. Whether the BJP truly believes in Anna’s bill or whether it is just a political gimmick to woo Anna supporters remains to be seen.
@36d64125e5b406b0e7a06ba0b585331c:disqus We are free to bash the govt for their ineptitude. And we are free to bash Hazare for his. Why should there be a difference? Varun Gandhi does plan to table Anna’s JanLokPal bill next week. Whether the BJP truly believes in Anna’s bill or whether it is just a political gimmick to woo Anna supporters remains to be seen.
Bash Anna by all means. However, character assassination and highlighting irregularities from the past is not going to serve the purpose.
Currently, the standing committee has invited Team Anna to provide their bill. We have to trust the parliamentary process. Let the parliament do its job and if at the end of the exercise, the bill is not passed or a weak bill is recommended and passed, then go on protests again.
The current demands by Team Anna are completely arrogant.
I think you are a bit late in bringing all these aspects together in your journal.Perhaps we may have been influenced against Hazare and his team if these were not already publicly known and publicly debated.This creates doubts about your honesty.
Sawant’s comment is laughable.Our ex-judges should not lose their sense of proportion and propriety in their zeal to show that they are the repositories of virtue.Ram Dev is an internationally known yoga Guru and it was a few years back that he purchased land in UK.Why was the Govt keeping quiet if there was some illegality in that purchase?Finally, there must be some provisions in all drafts including Hazare team’s that need relook and fine-tuning.But that does not mean he should be arrested on flimsy grounds and lodged in Tihar Jail with likes of Raja and Kalmadi.
@05113836579aa19921477dc0a0bf9771:disqus Here are a few older posts on the same
https://www.wahsarkar.com/2011/04/the-art-of-hunger-strikes/
https://www.wahsarkar.com/2011/06/annanomics-an-analysis-of-india%E2%80%99s-hunger-strike-industry/There is no mention of his arrest in this post.
Get will soon my dear friend. I think you must be paid by Gov for writing this. Do your job well and I will do mine by not supporting corrupt polictician. I observe that, You reply to all comment and that itself shows that you are doing your job well. But dear frined,hope you know the basic math before writing this shit. Assuming, 2.25 lakh spent in Anna’s bday, how can you compare it to 2G scam of 2lakh crore.
@yahoo-GPX3BUZ4UGJ4W223IMSJ24B6VU:disqus Yes, you are right. We must allow corruption till 10-15 lakhs. Does that sound good?
I am sure, you might be first one to speak against corruption done in CWG, 2G scam but doing nothing constructive. Here also you are doing the same, speaking against the anna instead of supporting him. Answering to your statement…
>>We must allow corruption till 10-15 lakhs. Does that sound good?
Please read my statement carefully. Where did i mention corruption of 10-15 lakhs is ok. Pasting the statement once again for that.
ASSUMING, 2.25 lakh spent in Anna’s bday, how can you compare it to 2G scam of 2lakh crore.
Also you seems to agreed on the fact that, there was no corruption in Annas bday. But because you mentioned it here earlier, it may give someone false impression that he is also following the corrupt person so he may stop the support. This may lessen intensity of this movement.
@yahoo-GPX3BUZ4UGJ4W223IMSJ24B6VU:disqus Taking to the streets & pining hopes on a bill that no one in their right minds will pass is being constructive for you. Well Done!! Go vote in elections, stop paying bribes & try understanding different points of views rather than patting yourself on your back & screaming revolution. This is a blog. Educate yourself on what a blog is. If you are coming here looking for world peace, then you wont find that here. Light a candle for that!
Read what happened after Anna’s corruption case – the Justice PB Sawant (Former Judge, Supreme Court of India) Commission appointed by the Government of Maharashtra under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 on 1st September, 2003 submitted its report on 23rd February, 2005 while indicting four persons for corruption- Sureshdada Jain, Minister (Food and Civil Supplies), Nawab Malik, MOS (Housing), Padmasinh Patil, Minister (Irrigation) Maharashtra and Anna Hazare. The law is meant to have an equal effect on all persons. All persons are equally liable to face punishment if they have performed an act of corruption.However, a stark difference is noted in the manner in which the three ministers resigned from the Cabinet and were shamed. Anna Hazare, who did not hold any public office, but was equally indicted for corruption moved from strength to strength, he is today known as India’s foremost crusader against corruption.
He has proven charges of corruption against him. Deal with it!
Regarding justice Sawant report, you need to dig a bit more into the entire matter to know the truth keeping your eyes open.
And haan, i dont need to educate myself on blog as i am not going to write any prejudiced feeling on some issue and making incorrect impression on other’s mind. But what you are writing is surely going to give false impression to people minds. So i was concerned.
@yahoo-GPX3BUZ4UGJ4W223IMSJ24B6VU:disqus Anna has proven corruption charges against him. Deal with it. Denying it wont make it go away. However this should not be a deterrent to him from continuing his protest.
Many in the nation have been misled by continuous rhetoric from Team Anna according to us. So we are free to express our opinion as you are free to disagree with it.
Fact – 1.
Don’t the govt. policies are such to reduce the smoking and consumption of tobacco, alcohol ? then why blame Anna. ?
We don’t know the story in between ‘man coming drunk and the Anna beating him up’ to be precise.
Fact-2
Full fact is this that when court case was filed against those random allotments , they said ‘cancel my allotment if allotted through wrong procedure.’
Fact-3
the whole case was that one industrialist wished for celebration of Anna’s Birthday with his donated money but instantly he didn’t have that much .. so the trust member gave the money from trust funds that time and that industrialist returned it within 2-3 days with some extra amount.
so overall that was the silly mistake of ill educated villagers who maintain the trust.
Fact -4
They also requested to govt representatives for other members including the opposition but the govt. replied we all are sufficient.(ham sab milkar hi kar lenge as LoO sushma swaraj said in loksabha).
Fact-5
We all know allegiance of govt. people (no need to show it).
For that matter ED and IT dept. people are ‘still’ searching Baba’s accounts in the hope they will get ‘something’ for the past 2 months . Still the ‘experts’ are not able to point out any irregularity.
And baba said if you find any black money in his accounts … announce it as ‘national assets’.
Fact-6
So who Govt can be trusted ..Right ??
If there comes a robust ‘judiciary accountability bill’, they have been saying that they will have no problem keeping judiciary out of Lokpal’s mandate.
Fact-7
They prefer keeping all state and below ‘A’ grade officer out of the purview of the Lokpal (only 11 member )but all NGO can be investigated. (For the fact there are 20 lac NGO in our country.)
and the target of the lokpal bill was corruption in govt dealings initially so only govt funded NGO.
Fact-8
Agree to you certain extent.. but
when the ultimate cause of failure of some previous bills has always been the corruption ..why not tackle it first (for example health sector scams).
When basic structure itself is wrong in Govt bill then what will be the modifications ??
Fact-9
When 20 lac NGO can come lokpal’s purview (u can understand why they have been included in govt draft ..as they are the one who pursue the illegal cases ferociously) why not other public servants.
And when the CBI’s anti corruption team and departmental vigilance bureau will come under independent Lokpal, much of the administrative need will be fulfilled.
and the People are not corrupt by themselves the system makes them such. (no body wants to give bribe but then no other option to get the work done…nobody to complaint. )
Fact-10
Irom Sharmila case ..dont know much of it , but if her case is genuine she also needs to be heard.
But she couldn’t make it the mass appeal …may be because of it concerns a very smaller geographical as well as less populated area.
Similar was the case with Swami Nigamanand who died fasting to save ganga… but died unheard.
different cases different awareness different mass appeal different approaches.
@WahSarkar: Reply to this now…
@65fc8960c00bf4b56bdf9c5b83176d6c:disqus 1) It’s fine. Though it shows the kind of methods Anna believes in. Don’t seem very Gandhian.
2) Ok. Apna Kaam banta. Bhaad me jaye Junta. We will then sit on a ”committee” & preach transparency. Never mind if we keep gaining from non-transparent govt schemes.
3) Agreed
4) Agreed. But is civil society of a 1.2 billion country restricted to 1 organization?
5) Ok. If you trust him so much despite what is written here.
6)Yes, most people feel a judicial accountability bill is a better solution.
7) According to the most conservative government estimates, our country has more than 3.3 million NGOs. This means that there is an NGO for every 400 people in India. There are more NGOs than primary schools and primary health centres in the country. In fact civil society workers can often get away with zero accountability just by stating that they are part of a ‘mass movement’ thereby avoiding any answerability. Smacks of hypocrisy by Team Anna. Everyone should be under Lokpal but us Civil Society.
8) Why protest & disrupt when bill is still under discussion. Should interest groups for all bills behave in the same manner. Are bills on health, education & poverty any less important?
9) tvenThe govt is also wrong to include all NGOs. Do we want to create an Army? How is this a practical solution? 50,000-1,00,000 strong Lokpal according to Team Anna.
10) Nigamanands & Sharmilas do not go on ”’farce” hunger strikes for 15 days & do not know how to market their hunger strikes. Sharmila has been fasting against an act which randomly kills people off in the NE. But she is not important enough for the govt or for us to care about.
1.He also worships Shivaji ..and likes his methods..
as i said different matters different approach.
(even Gandhi ji once threw out his wife ..that doesn’t mean he disrespects women.)
2.again i would say …study more abt that whole case.
4. again get it clear ..they never claim to be alone representatives…they asked the govt. ppls to include more eminent ppl from all walks of life.(like former chief justice verma).
5.i m just quoting full facts..if baba is wrong plz prosecute him, that’s i wish.
7.Abt team Anna ..they produced whole record of donations and expenditure when requested by media. (i would say pie pie ka hisab diya tha )
and our congress party didn’t bother to show accounts when requested by the same ppl.
8.no less imp. but this bill is pending for 43 years.. 8 parliaments and 8 standing committees have examined the material.. so why so much delay.
this bill is now of utmost importance as no more status quo can be maintained with regards to graft in public life.so as they didn’t listen earlier ..protest is necessary.
other bills doesn’t concern the ppl who has to make law on it as much as this ..so there is a confrontation and need of protest.
9. If system is so strong (and i think team anna has proposed a good one)..numbers don’t matter..ppl will have to follow the system.
10.Farce is wrong word… as large no. off ppl trust him.
Yeah publicity is required as much as moral character now a days..that’ the hard reality.
and team Anna did good on that aspect.
1. Oh. You should have said that earlier!! Wow!! That explains everything
2. Ooooooooos.. Great Point
4. Anna Hazare the undemocratic nepotic self appointed leader of civil society nominated people only from his own alliance. Live with it.
5. That’s on the way…
7. Is this about 1 NGO?
8. Very disappointing. Janlokpal is more important than education, health & poverty?? Next time I fall sick. I will just feel glad that I have a STRONG lokpal. My kids dont need to go to school anymore. Not in a country with a STRONG Lokpal. Nice.
9. Only in Lala land of dreams do numbers not matter. So sorry, I forgot that’s precisely where all Anna supporters are.. Haan Haan.. its fine..
10. F-A-R-C-E. live with it.
1. Forget the method, see the intution and motive. His method was still better than the one played by congress on Baba Ramdev in Ramlila Ground. And yeah, even I am not aware of any such story of ‘man coming drunk and the Anna beating him up’ to be precise.
2. Kokil answered you. Read properly and then comment.
3. You agreed. Good!
4. Who has stopped you in going in joining anna campaign? Did anyone stop you kid in going and joining annaji at jantar mantar or Ramlila Maidan? It must be your parents as that can be the only reason that you are sitting and making such unuseful blogs.I have met Arvind Kejriwal once and he is so humble to meet and discuss pros and cons of Jan Lokpal bill. You form your own organization too and represent 1.2 billion. who has stopped you kid?? Tell me.
5. If I am rich, does that mean i am corrupt? If Baba Ramdev has wealth, it nowhere means he is corrupt. He has earned it. It’s people like you who are jealous that he being a baba should not be wealthy. Atleast, whatever he is earning, he is giving back to society too. Ask Ambanis, have they preached yoga or done any such social service? I can guarantee you, if you join and be at forefront of anti corruption movement, your image would too be tarnished. In your life, you would have also borrowed money from friends and celebrate your borthdays, did that amount to corruption?
6. who are these ‘most’ people. Now who is becoming the self proclaimed representative of most people over here in your blog-anna or you?? I believe and even anna team believes that JAB in it’s stricter form would be sufficient and they have no problems with it.
7. This is ridiculous. Non govt NGOs like the one of organizing Ramlilas in Delhi, Welfare associations of every colony in Delhi, my mess committee (which are handling donated/self generated money) should be under scanner of lokpall according to you. It’s truly odious to comment on someone’s thought who seems to have the least experience in running such non govt. organizations. The work such NGOs do is actually the responsibility of govt. However, owing to laxity in our govt. agencies, such tasks have been taken up by citizens themselves. Tell me, whose responsibility is to collect garbage from my colony-govt. or Welfare association? I collect money from all my colony members, get the work done which is a responsibility of govt. and instead of appreciating, you condemn and put me under scanner. Ridiculous and with such provisions of jokepal of govt., people would be frightened doing social work too.
8. Cummon, if MPs are so worried about this, they would have not resisted to anna campaign for 12 days. The solution that came out finally could have been taken up and accepted even before his strike. Who lingered on with lokpal bill for forty years-govt. or anna?? so, who is responsible?? They have the time to pass priveledged motions and bills on sanctioning Apple ipads for all MPs in the same session in which they proclaim anna did not left space for passing janlokpal or other bills. Your reasoning discarded completely man!.
9. Very aptly explained by kokil. However, you could only understand if you had brains. But, you are Digvijay singh, so you won’t.
10. so, in this point you yourself agree that unless and until one adopt’s anna’s ways and intelligence, you can’t fight against this corrupt govt. Sitting on hunger strike is not our aim. First, you need to make a base. Ensure that you sitting on hunger strike should be fruitful too. You got to generate mass support. If govt. is playing tactfully by launching Diggy and Manish Tiwari/Sibal type weapons, there is no harm in doing the tit for tat to them.
Brother, understand, I am not a pro-BJP or a political person. In fact, in last elections, I voted for Congress. However, indecent tactics being adopted by congress and barking of digvijay Singh has made me believe that I am voting for a wrong party. It’s better to vote for a communal party which can be mended than to vote for a corrupt party which tends to behave in an autocratic manner and kills all voices against it by its vindictiveness.
Dear Brother,
If you believe only in intentions, you must join Kalmadi and Raja if they ever start an anti-corruption campaign because all that matters is intention. You seem to be a little slow in understanding whatever is going around. This could be because your senses are masked by the excessive candle-wax or too many Gandhi topis. To bring you up to date, Anna’s farce fast led to nothing but a sort of acknowledgement by the govt that they would agree to 3 out of some 30-40 points that Anna initially started with. That too they agreed in principle. This was enough to lead to widespread celebrations by India’s freshly awakened youth. Almost everyone including Anna’s closest aides during this campaign are now distancing themselves from his eccentricities. This was supposed to be a non-political anti corruption movement but it is anything but that now. However you are free to believe that lots of rhetorical crap along with a few candles and hungry stomachs will drive corruption out of India.
All the Best
Digvijay Singh
What do you think the odds are that Kalmadi and Raja would start an anti-corruption campaign?
Sorry this comes so long after your post. By the way, did you go to a rally? If not, I think you should – the movement’s coming around again, you know, Team Anna has booked Ramlila for some time in December, I think. At the very least you’ll have more fuel for your satire – at best, you’ll understand that the kind of enthusiasm that (some, many, most – whichever word you prefer) people are displaying, cannot be laughed away.
Yes, the odds are low but in case they do start a campaign please assemble with candles in hand because only intent matters.
Enthusiasm is wonderful. Unfortunately a few people who understand Anna better than you and me seem to have lost their enthusiasm – http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=215743648492466&set=a.156463291087169.37528.138557286211103&type=1&ref=nf
And so has the man who started it all – http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=224453110954853&set=a.156463291087169.37528.138557286211103&type=1&ref=nf
If you still don’t believe us then let us get together and scream at the top of our lungs and scare corruption out of India at the next rally.
Kiran B.thinks ANNA is India and India is Anna.I think she needs medical help with her brains or needs to be in an asylum!Another idiot had made the same statement about INDIRA during the Emergency and is derided for it till today!Just read the editorial UNCIVIL SOCIETY in todays Business Standard,it makes a lot of sense.I am glad the likes of Aruna Roy and Justice Shah have taken on these loonies.Also read Tavleen Singh in the Indian Express.She is being abused for being a govt.stooge because she disagrees with Anna and his brand of civil society.As far as i can recollect she has always been anti congress and Sonia Inc.
“Naam,
Namak, Nishan”….this is the most opportune time to form the ‘Anna
Party’ in all the states of like minded people and
intellectual/professional…so that in the next election this party has a
sweeping majority and rules the country .This Anna party can give good
governance and a corrupt free INDIA.We have had a lot of dynastic rule.
Let the common man rule the country and solve the problem of ‘roti,
kapra aur makan’ forever and make INDIA a poverty free country.INDIA is
for the common man and everybody for that matter.
If
the UPA government doesn’t pass the Jan Lok Pal bill in the parliament
against the will of the people then it has no option but to go.This bill
has the support of all the Indian people.The MPs of the parliament are a
minuscule entity compared to the citizens of India.If the people of
India wants to have Jan Lok Pal bill the parliament has to pass it. The
parliament has no option but to stand by the people of India.The
betrayer would be only few hundred people.Few hundred people are not
equivalent to hundreds of crores of people.School going kids would also
understand that crores is definitely greater than few hundred.This is
mathematically as well as ideology wise.
Actually
after freedom some of the families who have ruled India through
Congress party are enjoying royalty like privy purses before the
independence. Mahatma Gandhi’s family doesn’t enjoy this privilege
though he was at the forefront of the independent movement.It is high
time these families should stop getting the extra privileges. They
should also become commoners and earn their bread and butter though
services and hard work.Otherwise what is the meaning of democracy? is it
to create a privileged class who are always on the top? this is not the
meaning of true democracy.The government of the day is fearful of
disclosing Swiss bank account holders because many of these privileged
dynastic families would fall into the bait.
Actually
two major parties are fooling the poor and the down trodden.They hold
rallies and give momentary bribes to these ordinary citizens say some
sweets and food and some paltry sum of money to gather a mass and show
public support.Huge sums are thus spend to pacify the ordinary mass and
get a mass support.The middle class thus are always in a dilemma to
choose whom to support.They have to ultimately decide and are forced to
vote for one of the parties although in heart of hearts they are not
contented but hope to get at least some bit of good governance.Thus
these two political parties deceive the whole lot of Indians. And once
they are in power they start plundering the country and impose their
authoritarianship among the humble Indian citizen. For five year there
is nobody to check and counter check on them.Now with Anna people have
found a common platform to fight back.The people should hit where it
really hurts.So my advice is to hit now when the time is ripe.A small
hit by everybody will give a thundering blow to the opponent.
“Indian
Parliament has become a Frankenstein Monster and MPs are its
manipulators. It is high time some decorum is set into the parliamentary
system and parliamentarians are told about their limitations. we have seen everything in the parliament…cash for votes, fish market like atmosphere, presence of criminals…. Why do ministers and MPs think that they are cut above the ordinary Indian citizens?Are
the MPs and ministers an authoritarian class?Why do MPs and ministers
behave very arrogantly in public?They have been elected in their
constituencies to serve the people and not to become autocrats.They have
to serve humbly or resign from their posts if they are unable to do
so.”
You say — This Anna party can give good governance and a corrupt free INDIA. — This is possible. However they need to contest elections instead of starving themselves for this.
Knock knock !!! Hello tiwari,,or is it kapil sibbal firing the ass of wahsarkar to write this crap.
If these facts were true then your dear sibbal & tiwari would have got this published in every leading magazine and newspaper(from punjab kesri,sarita to grih shobha).
How come they missed all these. I think sibal n tiwari have made an obidient dog out of you.
Please rename your blog as sibal&tiwari.com.
@a63a0c1d7483cf5ab43cee92ad8bbb6b:disqus Please tell us which of the points in the post are questionable.
The first thing that must be conceded about Anna Hazare, often portrayed
as a simpleton, is that he is a brilliant leader and tactician who
knows when and where to strike. An important trait of leadership is to
stay focussed on the big picture, and on one or two key points. Hazare
has been consistent and clear: he wants a Jan Lokpal bill that would
oversee all political, bureaucratic, and judicial authorities. Henry
Kissinger had once made a pertinent point: details are for bureaucrats.
Now, one can go on and on about how the PM under the Lokpal is bad
for democracy, why the judiciary must be kept out, etc. But those are
exactly the details that concern intellectuals and bureaucrats; details
that concern the drafting panel and the likes of Sibal and Kejriwal. A
leader must never get bogged down with the nitty-gritty. This might
sound far-fetched, but Mahatma Gandhi merely gave the call, Quit India;
he didn’t worry about the details.
Whether instinctively or
otherwise, Hazare understands he must focus on the big picture. This is
not a sign of a lack of education (as some claim), it is a sign of
leadership.
@a63a0c1d7483cf5ab43cee92ad8bbb6b:disqus Yes, they all maybe brilliant leaders as demonstrated. However those who wish to disagree with their methods & motives are free to do so.
Please read Sec 26(3) of Jan Lok Pal- it says the Jan Lok Pal can spend as much money as it wants and for this it does not require any permission.
Also, Jan LokPal and his 10 member team will be selected by the Judges, will have judges, and their removal can also be done only by the Judges but has nothing about appointment of seperate judges just meant for Lokpal. The poor judge’s are not able to do their work(reason for back log of cases) and now they will also have to look into every complaint against the LokPal. When will they do the work for which they are paid ?
The other concern, one repeated by the PM ad nauseum and taken up by
scores of intellectuals, is that mass movements weaken democracy and
that only Parliament (and parliamentarians) must make the laws. The
first is a lie: protests do not weaken democracy (it is ironic that so
many intellectuals hailed the Arab spring even as they flayed Hazare’s
summer!).
Today, we have a political vacuum, which is why Hazare has become an
icon. No one trusts politicians today. We all know that elections only
throw up the less corrupt. Take Tamil Nadu: out goes the DMK of the
1.76-lakh-crore scam and in comes Jayalalithaa of the Rs100-crore scam.
So what has changed?
In fact, intellectuals should be praising street protests because these
protests have told our politicians that beyond elections, we will now
hold them accountable. Democracy is strengthened when people take time
off to fight for their country. And while one agrees that only
Parliament must make the laws, the laws have to be in consonance with
the people’s wishes. If tomorrow Parliament decides to abolish
elections, would not we, the people, come out and protest? So why are
protests being seen negatively?
@Bhagtya Protests do not weaken democracy. but insistence on My Way or the Highway does weaken democracy. Is Anna seeking a bill against corruption or is he seeking to replace the parliament? In the highly unlikely & almost impossible event that the Govt wishes to do away with elections, we have apex bodies that can step in. Elections is how we judge & boot out inefficient governments. Parties who lose elections do not go on hunger strikes & protest. How do we judge self appointed civil society which will blackmail till it doesn’t get its way?
So what if the Jan Lokpal bill doesn’t wipe out corruption.
Democracy and legislation are ongoing processes. If one bill doesn’t
work, we can (and must) introduce another. The fight against corruption
is not, and can never be, a one-bill affair.
Anna Hazare needs our
— and the intellectuals’ —support because he has shown a willingness to
fight to make our politicians accountable to the people. That can only
be a good thing.
@a63a0c1d7483cf5ab43cee92ad8bbb6b:disqus Jan LokPal will wipe out corruption & make India a superpower. Wait & Watch.. All we need is 15 days of hunger..
I AM ANNA
Hey you kapil sibbal/tiwari/wahsarkar ….we won..now get the f*** out
Congratulations!! … BTW What did you win??
Anna was sensible enough to reduce his ridiculous demands to 3 so the charade has ended for now!!It’s still with the standing committee… still to be voted upon at some point.. so don’t blow out your candle yet..
For fact no. 1 — Those being thrashed were poor people who havent had enough money to eat or educate their kids,,so that thrashing is totally justified !!!!!
@a63a0c1d7483cf5ab43cee92ad8bbb6b:disqus Ok. Doesn’t sound very Gandhian though. To add..
Liquor, tobacco, even cable TV forbidden. Dalit families were compelled to adopt a vegetarian diet. One researcher found that on Hazare’s instructions, no panchayat elections had been held in the village for the past two decades. During state and national elections, no campaigning was allowed in Ralegan Siddhi.
Visit these spiritual and touching website.
http://anna-hazare-lokpal-bill.in/
It will provide you all current information, live & ongoing for anna-hazare & lokpal-bil
At least we can support him instead of sitting idle.
Like http://anna-hazare-lokpal-bill.in/ website to support anna-hazare!!!