Twenty-three year old Babesh works at a leading IT major in a Chennai's IT park at Taramani. Just an year into work, he still commutes by bus, any headed to Thiruvanmiyur or beyond, getting on near his home at Ambal Nagar. However his presence at office has been almost nil in the past few days. He still boards the same bus every morning but disembarks a few stops later at Thiruvanmiyur. The place where he has been reporting for the past few days is not the AC confines of an IT cubicle but the dusty and moist heat of a construction site. Along with him are several others, the worksmen and masons not among them however. A strict police presence is filling the air. It's a large gathering inside the site, and unlike recurring food for thought in Babesh's office, there is literally no food here, nor has there been from the start.
They total 64 in number and are fasting for Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal bill to be a reality. They are expressing solidarity with the Gandhian who has entered his 9th day of fasting at Ramlila Maidan. Anna has managed to win the support of lakhs of Babesh's countrywide. And lakhs of cubicles have emptied onto streets and parks. A small minority among the lakhs have refused to eat, it having no impact on lowering the food inflation. The country has entered a chaos phase. Chaos has been the norm of crucial Parliamentary business, the last session being as bad a whitewash as India's test series at England. It is chaos again, only that the culprit is not a king scamster or a lame duck figure, but a septuagenarian who aided by a bandwagon has been the indirect reason for a grinding halt to almost every day's sessions. Quite frankly it should have been a session with considerably less disruptions (one without disruptions at all is near impossible even in clear weather) given that with several central allies being behind bars, and the opposition also having given hint of co-operating, there would have not been much reasons for cacophony. Hazare, whatever his good intentions, and they are good intentions no doubt, is doing a dis-service.
Extremely nefarious is the period of his fast- August 16th and not half way into the monsoon session. There is no way such a contentious bill can be expected to be passed in such a short time. Devoid of time the Jan Lokpal will be as loose ended as a bad bill can be, and could actually give more room for manipulation and corruption -something it intends to check. Not only that, the Jan Lokpal however important is not urgent. It sat for 40 plus years, it can sit for even a couple more. There are other urgent and important bills waiting to be passed concerning national security, defence deals, poverty alleviation, inflation containment, economy management, infrastructure, power - an endless list. By choking the parliament Anna is choking development - agreed that when the govt sets out for a grade 10 development, it ensures only grade 3 development - but that little development is still precious, thousands of jobs and thousands of benefits would be in the offering. It is a crime on Team Anna's part to not realise or consider this, just as it was a crime by Raja to manipulate spectrum deals. The difference in scale of loss between the two is too stark, but Anna's fasting is costing quite a loss with those disrupted sessions and consequently forgotten discussions and bills. For one who is worried about corruption, about how public tax-payer money is being looted, disappearing into thin air, Anna must realise the money disappearing from wasted Parliament sessions (a day in parliament costs ALOT), and the thousands of Babesh's shirking his work, and the thousands of police personnel not being able to be somewhere where they would be more needed.
Equally difficult are the contentious points in his version of Jan Lokpal, that he wants passed at all costs, even his life. I for one, think it would be a mistake to bring the Prime Minister under its purview, to have anyone to watch over him. India is a democratic country, and a creditable one at that. It's leaders and parties are elected by popular judgement of its citizens. Our current PM may be unelected but his cabinet is. In any case in the country's history there has never been a corrupt PM (with the exception of probably HD Deve Gowda). One can argue about Indira Gandhi, but with an Indira Gandhi, a Lokpal bill or any bill of how much ever or how sharp ever teeth will be crushed to powder. Some find PVN Rao as corrupt, some dont, but let us remember that it was then that India started becoming, both good and bad, the India it is today. It is difficult to imagine whether PVNR and cabinet would have put India on the world map for others to see if there had been a third eye of Shiva watching over him. To check and kick out corrupt PMs (and his govts) should they ever come is why India has always an aggressive opposition (so aggressive at times they are vulgar and embarrassing) and something called a No Confidence Vote. That existing system ensures that the ones to call for his removal are ones who themselves are elected representatives of their people, and ones who are transacting governance and business for the good of his own constituency. A third person to watch over the head of the country is rubbish when there is a mechanism is in place - a mechanism that has not yet failed miserably, though it has been shaky and dodgy at times. If a vested interest raises an issue against the PM, the PM will have a lot of distractions from running the country (and mind you it makes things worse given that some PMs like the current one already have their hands tied by a supreme leader. He doesn't need his legs to be tied too).The country can never function if such a provision is ever brought in.
And calling it the Second Struggle for Independence is the height of theatrics. And to say such a thing that the world can hear it, is a dishonor. Those charmed by that phrase have a lot of thinking to do regarding what Independence means. India is still a country run by a bunch of people, crook or clean, that have been elected by the people themselves. The ministers, MLAs and MPs still reflect and deliver service to the electors (for the people), rarely fully, mostly partially, and at times after pocketing a share. The MPs and MLAs still face the test of re-election every 5 years. They stand for it without an intent to hold on to power forcibly - like seen in the middle east now, or since we are talking of our second independence, like the British rulers. The government of India has never unleashed atrocities against its own people a la Assad or Gaddafi or General Dyer. Even minority appeasement tactics and certain pseudo secularist intents can be seen just in the dirty safe of vote bank politics and nothing more. It doesn't amount to anything close to an atrocity. As such calls for a second Independence struggle or unwarranted to say the least.
If Anna wants to really and sincerely help the country he must be more flexible and willing to co-operate with the government and give it a reasonable amount of time to work things out after other important matters of governance are attended to. He should be ready to discuss and meet the government's panel on their convenience, because of course they have more things to do than Anna. Only then can anything reasonable be achieved. If Anna, as seems now, coerces the government to drably accept his version, it will be a disaster - half baked beans and later gas trouble and diarrhea. And even in the event of the government surrendering to it, either someone from team Anna must tell him or Anna must himself realise - Anna has to drop the demand for including the PM.
It is time for Babeshs across the country to curse the home ministry as much and as abusively as they want for the disastrous handling and arrest of Anna, but then go on and resume their day to day life. It is time for Baba Ramdevs and Sri Sris to stick to preaching and stop meddling in the government's affairs. It is time for supposed secessionists like Arundhati Roy to never open their mouths about India's affairs given their track record. It is time for Superstar and Ilaya Thalapathi to fight corruption only in films when they don't know the alphabets of the Constitution. And it is, conclusively, time for Team Anna to stop fasting, time for Team Congress to stop being rash, and for both to sit around a sumptuous meal and decide to talk this over during the Parliament break.
Let us Jai Hind to the progressiveness that made Brand India. Not to the repressiveness being highlighted by Barkha Dutts and Arnab Goswamis.
Jai Hind !!
They total 64 in number and are fasting for Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal bill to be a reality. They are expressing solidarity with the Gandhian who has entered his 9th day of fasting at Ramlila Maidan. Anna has managed to win the support of lakhs of Babesh's countrywide. And lakhs of cubicles have emptied onto streets and parks. A small minority among the lakhs have refused to eat, it having no impact on lowering the food inflation. The country has entered a chaos phase. Chaos has been the norm of crucial Parliamentary business, the last session being as bad a whitewash as India's test series at England. It is chaos again, only that the culprit is not a king scamster or a lame duck figure, but a septuagenarian who aided by a bandwagon has been the indirect reason for a grinding halt to almost every day's sessions. Quite frankly it should have been a session with considerably less disruptions (one without disruptions at all is near impossible even in clear weather) given that with several central allies being behind bars, and the opposition also having given hint of co-operating, there would have not been much reasons for cacophony. Hazare, whatever his good intentions, and they are good intentions no doubt, is doing a dis-service.
Extremely nefarious is the period of his fast- August 16th and not half way into the monsoon session. There is no way such a contentious bill can be expected to be passed in such a short time. Devoid of time the Jan Lokpal will be as loose ended as a bad bill can be, and could actually give more room for manipulation and corruption -something it intends to check. Not only that, the Jan Lokpal however important is not urgent. It sat for 40 plus years, it can sit for even a couple more. There are other urgent and important bills waiting to be passed concerning national security, defence deals, poverty alleviation, inflation containment, economy management, infrastructure, power - an endless list. By choking the parliament Anna is choking development - agreed that when the govt sets out for a grade 10 development, it ensures only grade 3 development - but that little development is still precious, thousands of jobs and thousands of benefits would be in the offering. It is a crime on Team Anna's part to not realise or consider this, just as it was a crime by Raja to manipulate spectrum deals. The difference in scale of loss between the two is too stark, but Anna's fasting is costing quite a loss with those disrupted sessions and consequently forgotten discussions and bills. For one who is worried about corruption, about how public tax-payer money is being looted, disappearing into thin air, Anna must realise the money disappearing from wasted Parliament sessions (a day in parliament costs ALOT), and the thousands of Babesh's shirking his work, and the thousands of police personnel not being able to be somewhere where they would be more needed.
Equally difficult are the contentious points in his version of Jan Lokpal, that he wants passed at all costs, even his life. I for one, think it would be a mistake to bring the Prime Minister under its purview, to have anyone to watch over him. India is a democratic country, and a creditable one at that. It's leaders and parties are elected by popular judgement of its citizens. Our current PM may be unelected but his cabinet is. In any case in the country's history there has never been a corrupt PM (with the exception of probably HD Deve Gowda). One can argue about Indira Gandhi, but with an Indira Gandhi, a Lokpal bill or any bill of how much ever or how sharp ever teeth will be crushed to powder. Some find PVN Rao as corrupt, some dont, but let us remember that it was then that India started becoming, both good and bad, the India it is today. It is difficult to imagine whether PVNR and cabinet would have put India on the world map for others to see if there had been a third eye of Shiva watching over him. To check and kick out corrupt PMs (and his govts) should they ever come is why India has always an aggressive opposition (so aggressive at times they are vulgar and embarrassing) and something called a No Confidence Vote. That existing system ensures that the ones to call for his removal are ones who themselves are elected representatives of their people, and ones who are transacting governance and business for the good of his own constituency. A third person to watch over the head of the country is rubbish when there is a mechanism is in place - a mechanism that has not yet failed miserably, though it has been shaky and dodgy at times. If a vested interest raises an issue against the PM, the PM will have a lot of distractions from running the country (and mind you it makes things worse given that some PMs like the current one already have their hands tied by a supreme leader. He doesn't need his legs to be tied too).The country can never function if such a provision is ever brought in.
And calling it the Second Struggle for Independence is the height of theatrics. And to say such a thing that the world can hear it, is a dishonor. Those charmed by that phrase have a lot of thinking to do regarding what Independence means. India is still a country run by a bunch of people, crook or clean, that have been elected by the people themselves. The ministers, MLAs and MPs still reflect and deliver service to the electors (for the people), rarely fully, mostly partially, and at times after pocketing a share. The MPs and MLAs still face the test of re-election every 5 years. They stand for it without an intent to hold on to power forcibly - like seen in the middle east now, or since we are talking of our second independence, like the British rulers. The government of India has never unleashed atrocities against its own people a la Assad or Gaddafi or General Dyer. Even minority appeasement tactics and certain pseudo secularist intents can be seen just in the dirty safe of vote bank politics and nothing more. It doesn't amount to anything close to an atrocity. As such calls for a second Independence struggle or unwarranted to say the least.
If Anna wants to really and sincerely help the country he must be more flexible and willing to co-operate with the government and give it a reasonable amount of time to work things out after other important matters of governance are attended to. He should be ready to discuss and meet the government's panel on their convenience, because of course they have more things to do than Anna. Only then can anything reasonable be achieved. If Anna, as seems now, coerces the government to drably accept his version, it will be a disaster - half baked beans and later gas trouble and diarrhea. And even in the event of the government surrendering to it, either someone from team Anna must tell him or Anna must himself realise - Anna has to drop the demand for including the PM.
It is time for Babeshs across the country to curse the home ministry as much and as abusively as they want for the disastrous handling and arrest of Anna, but then go on and resume their day to day life. It is time for Baba Ramdevs and Sri Sris to stick to preaching and stop meddling in the government's affairs. It is time for supposed secessionists like Arundhati Roy to never open their mouths about India's affairs given their track record. It is time for Superstar and Ilaya Thalapathi to fight corruption only in films when they don't know the alphabets of the Constitution. And it is, conclusively, time for Team Anna to stop fasting, time for Team Congress to stop being rash, and for both to sit around a sumptuous meal and decide to talk this over during the Parliament break.
Let us Jai Hind to the progressiveness that made Brand India. Not to the repressiveness being highlighted by Barkha Dutts and Arnab Goswamis.
Jai Hind !!
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