Anna Hazare has captured the imagination of the nation. Contrary views flow everyday from politicians, social activists and so called self-proclaimed social commentators. To regard Anna Hazare’s fast-on-to-death as a mere blackmail campaign against the government may or may not sound correct. If the man who seems to have irked by the continuous fallout of scams by the UPA government is wrong in its own right, what did the political fraternity really do to prevent corruption? Let me not be vengeful. But the cause he has fasted for directly hits the common man’s psyche. The continuous insistence on the Jan Lokpal bill took the nation by storm only because the corruption was possibly at its zenith. And the efforts combined with intent were nowhere in the scene.
It is agreed that the Jan Lokpal has certain discrepancies. But where was the endeavour to roll back the government’s Lokpal and put in place the better, improved version of the bill. We even understand that the nation might face problems if the PM and the judiciary are brought in the jurisdiction of Lokpal, but provisions could be made in such a way that everything looks transparent, and people in the jury and at the PMO are not left arbitrarily to misuse their posts.
The intent of the political class is still opaque. The opposition is only trying to take advantage of the current impasse and is not showing the commitment and will to create a corruption-free environment. Maybe, the creamiest pies (such as 2G) are in their sight, which they want to hog on once they return to power. The problem is: all leaders, in the opposition or the government, have lost credibility. It is, therefore, doubtful whether there would be an effective law that helps curb corruption. It’s doubtful whether Anna will live his dream.
