The whole world was watching, with bated breath, when Shri Anna Hazare went on a hunger strike to get the Jan Lokpal bill passed. Reams of newsprint were devoted and prime AIR time was consumed in his fight. Indians, the world over, spontaneously joined in his campaign and the struggle of the common man against corruption took on life of its own.
Such, was the power of one man, that every political heavyweight (and light weights too) made appropriate noises, to demonstrate, that they were against corruption. Steadfast in his resolve, his hunger strike continued, till Indian parliament passed a “sense of the house” resolution, calling on Anna to end his fast, promising to pass a strong Jan Lokpal bill, in the winter session of parliament. This, indeed, was a very strong movement, that galvanized the entire nation into action – supporting the anti corruption movement. And that too, in spite of opposition to (many sections of) this bill, by very senior ministers, expressed very obtusely.
And now we have, what seems to be, a “theatre of the absurd” going on. First, Arvind Kejriwal owed dues to Government,which he disputed in the media. If he really wanted to dispute it, the IT laws provide for appeals to a competent authority – but he didn’t utilize this route. Instead, he took his personal fight, with the Income Tax department, to the public (media) domain. And then, quite nonsensically, he tells us that he is borrowing money from friends and sends a cheque and a letter to the Prime Minister. Why this emotional appeal? How completely childish and absurd. And he goes completely ballistic on television.
When questioned about the use of money, donated to Anna’s movement, being deposited into his NGO’s account – we have an answer, which defies logic. He is on record, to say that we will be refunding the money to those donors, whose details are incomplete. How preposterous. If you don’t have a donors name, for example, or an address, etc. how can you refund the money? And what was the need for this financial juggling, in the first place?
And madam Kiran Bedi, has not covered herself in glory either. A Magsaysay award winner and a police officer, with an unblemished record, she now justifies on National television what she did – flying economy but billing business class. And this, without batting an eyelid. Any junior executive, in a small organization, knows that this is a wrong practice, and if discovered, there could be punishment, as harsh as a job loss. It is purely UNETHICAL to say the least. No junior executive can or will, ever justify going by bus and claiming taxi fare – because he has a critically ailing grandmother. Just not done. Period.
So, we now have a situation, where the two most prominent faces, of Anna’s movement have tarnished their own image (with a little help from one Digvijaya Singh). Most important – the usually lethargic middle class, had come out of its stupor. But with this credibility gap – the movement (however well intentioned) will suffer from a crisis of credibility.
And, these players don’t seem to have learned their lessons, at all – when Government spokespersons, like Vilasrao Deshmukh and company, COMPLETELY BYPASSED them and spoke directly to Anna, during the closing stages of his hunger strike.
Lessons not learned. Is this the beginning of the end? Is this a requiem, for a promising people's movement? Or will people still come out and support it, in droves, as they did last time?
Or, will people, like Justice Santosh Hegde, come to the movements rescue (about time new blood is introduced!)
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