It is really unfortunate to see the movement which started as an apolitical crusade against corruption, getting slowly transformed into a platform for opportunism and politicking (All thanks to Anna Hazare). Use of this platform for the unabashed display of furore against the UPA government by some political parties which themselves do one thing when they are in power and take a u-turn when in opposition, can only be perceived as a sordid attempt to gain political mileage.
The movement for a strong Lokpal bill is fast turning into a Bash-Congress forum.
The need of the hour is for the political class as a whole to rise to the occasion and respond to the challenge of enacting an effective law.. Targeting the government will not help.
Also Team Anna's unilateral posturing on the Lokpal bill and making it an ego issue of 'my way or no way' is only making things worse.
The movement for a strong Lokpal bill is fast turning into a Bash-Congress forum.
The need of the hour is for the political class as a whole to rise to the occasion and respond to the challenge of enacting an effective law.. Targeting the government will not help.
Also Team Anna's unilateral posturing on the Lokpal bill and making it an ego issue of 'my way or no way' is only making things worse.
Dood!! Finally got around to reading your blog today. Good stuff !!
ReplyDeleteI concur with you on many points especially the one about Team Anna's 'my way or the highway' approach. No matter how frustrated they might be with the red tape of our polity they just cannot hold the govt at gunpoint and get the bill passed. That's not how a parliament is supposed to work.
I have a couple of gripes against their approach. Firstly the law they've proposed gives an immense amount of power to the ombudsman and they want to jam it through without enough deliberation. It could have some serious repercussions. Secondly it sets a dangerous precedent for other social movements in future.
The point you made about the NGOs in one of your previous posts is also a good one. We should discuss this in detail when we meet next ;) Till then keep them coming !!!
Thanx dude. I agree with your point.
ReplyDeleteWhat indeed is unfortunate is that this movement, despite being one of the more unintelligible ones of recent times, has been made out to be a revolution of sorts, thanks to all the undeserved media attention it has got.
It is true that we need to deal with the menace of corruption, and we can all acknowledge that some strong measures need to be adopted for this.
But by rushing this bill through by completely overriding the government and the parliamentary debate, they have left no room for constructive argument making and criticism, which are basic building blocks of the a democracy on which the entire Indian state has been built.
This movement is seeking to overthrow the Indian state my means of a bloodless Gandhian coup. This can prove to be even more damaging than the Maoist movement in the long run.A movement like that of Maoists, which has violence written all over it is there for everybody to see and recognize the danger. But a non-violent movement, misled by not so well thought of intentions, can do a lot of hidden damage before anyone can even realize the harm caused.