A People’s Agenda

The Congress led UPA government and its so called public posturing to fight corruption at the highest level is being put to a stern test by social activist and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare who is on a fast unto death demanding a more stringent law against corruption. While both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi appears to have the right intention to tackle the problem of corruption, the protest by Mr Hazare should be taken as a wakeup call for both as attempt to fight corruption cannot be done through cosmetic exercises but will require effective tools. The basic point of concern is that if such initiative is left at the hands of politicians and bureaucrat the so called policy makers, the very purpose of having a stringent anti-corruption law will be defeated. It is obvious that the decades old Lok Pal Bill which has changed its avatar many times since it was first introduced in Parliament will require stringent makeover to give it the teeth that is required if we are really serious about taking on corruption head-on. And this is the concern of the latest protest by Mr Hazare that the Lok Pal Bill should not turn out to be a cosmetic piece of legislation.
Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption crusade must accomplish something
If the Prime Minister and his government is serious about fighting corruption then the suggestion put forth by Anna Hazare needs to be taken into consideration. The demand is for a joint committee of civil society members and government representatives to draft a strong anti-graft Lok Pal bill. The logic presented by people like Hazare is both rational and the right way to go about doing things. The problem with reforms of our system and attempts in the past has been simply this: those who have a vested interest to serve cannot be expected to come out with a progressive piece of legislation. Hazare has rightly pointed out that many of the Ministers who are in the present committee to draft the Lok Pal Bill should be actually in jail, meaning that they are corrupt. The counter argument is that legislation is the business of Parliament alone, and allowing civil society to help draft this law would set a dangerous precedent. While technically this may be true, however this does not mean that suggestion from the people cannot be incorporated into legislation. And doesn’t it make sense that as a people’s democracy it is about time that policy making and legislation should become more inclusive.
For many years the working of our governments has been the sole prerogative of the powerful few. It is not a surprise therefore to see the level of corruption and abuse of power. The country has suffered as a result of this and continues to be confronted with problems of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and disease. Politicians, political parties and the bureaucracy are perceived to be corrupt. And since it is these people who run the government, anti-corruption efforts have remained ineffective all these years. The protest led by Anna Hazare is important as he has raised simple yet fundamental questions of real reforms. Unless the process of fighting corruption is made inclusive of civil society and common people, leaving the job to the entrenched political establishment will bear no fruit. The status-quo will continue and vested interest will be protected. Our governments may chant reforms and other popular slogans. However if change has to come, it has to be through a people centered approach. Democracy cannot exclude the voice and cry of the people.