An Initiative Gone Awry

Anna Hazare and his team is back. This time, presumably, with a greater support and even more rigid demands. When Anna sat on indefinite hunger strike for the first time in April, it was largely driven by a selfless and honest ambition to root out corruption from India and demand formulation of a strong Lokpal Bill. Three months since 73-year old Gandhian rose to national limelight, the circumstances have changed a lot, plenty of political water has flown through various terrains of India.

Anti-corruption movement seems to be have been sabotaged by a self-elected civil society, half-baked political aspirants like Ramdev, and there is an increasing tendency to challenge every damn thing that the Government of India does. Credibility of the government is abysmally low and it is largely being perceived to be the most corrupt regime to have ruled India since independence. But again, one should not forget that perception is built through actions and hence, government itself is to be blamed for its misery. The Prime Minister seems to be lost in his own world, with little knowledge of whats happening in his cabinet. He is a crippled head of the government with little power to exercise and is mostly ill-advised by a bunch of sophisticated law-educated ministers. There is a serious lack of good governance and smart decision-making at the moment.

Nobody questions the sanctity of the cause taken up by Anna Hazare. I was more than willing to extend my support, in every possible way, to Anna when he first undertook fast unto death in April. But now, the current agitation seems to be a clear ego tussle between an arrogant government and a stubborn social activist. Anna's tactics are quite similar to black-mailing and set a very wrong precedent in a democratic country like India. The authority and supremacy of parliament can not be challenged, laws can not be made by 'civil society' activists. Yes, government's version of Lokpal is toothless and incompetent. But, fast unto death is not the only way to challenge the government.

But more than anybody else, it is the central government which needs to be blamed for taking a series of stupid decisions and paving way for such a logjam. What went wrong?

• Government failed to gauge the mood of the common public. There is popular anger against corruption, which is neither sponsored by US or fueled by RSS. It is a spontaneous upheaval among the masses, which is reeling under a series of infamous scams.
• Government failed to take opposition in confidence on Lokpal Issue. Anna initiated the movement against corruption in political class as a whole. By excluding opposition from all negotiations, the government made it an Anna Vs Govt Battle!
• Manish Tiwary, the young foul-mouthed spokesperson of congress crossed all limits of decency while taking on Anna. His personal tirade against the veteran activist has further infuriated the supporters as well as even those who were not very sure of supporting Anna.
• Arresting Anna Hazare even before he could move out of his house was perhaps a decision sillier than ordering that late night clean up action at Ramlila Grounds. Anna was made to look like a martyr even before he actually made any sacrifice! This move was a typical case of legal wiz-kids taking up wrong political decisions.

In totality, it does appear to be a silly deadlock. Anna Hazare must realize that the ultimate power of formulating and passing a bill lies with the parliament. He can, of course, put forward his view but that should not amount to blackmailing. He has all the legal options open. Yes, protesting is his right, the government was foolish to restrict it. Anna can move to the court and seek relief. Government, on the other hand, must shed its arrogance of power. Because, power, ultimately, is temporary. It should learn a few lessons from what Arun Jaitley said after PM's statement on Hazare's arrest in parliament yesterday.

The Greatest Misfortune of This Country is that it has a Prime Minister who simply does not know how to put forward his views. He is a terrible speaker. Even a sneezing Arun Jaitley and a Coughing Sushma Swaraj can outshine him. This naked reality was on full display yesterday in parliament, when BJP tore into PM Singh's statement. And all he did was to sit and listen!

Oratory skills are to politics what ink is to writing. Anna Hazare, even with strictly okay Hindi, is a fantastic speaker. He speaks his mind and hence, is able to connect with people immediately. Arun Jaitley is fluent both in Hindi and English, his reply to PM's statement was nothing short of historic. Manhoman Singh may not be a gifted speaker but he can at least try. He needs to take bold decisions. He can not expect a Chidambaram to rescue him all the time. These are historic times. Coming generations would judge Anna Hazare, Manmohan Singh and the others on the basis of how well they conduct themselves and put forward their sides of story in the coming days.