Anna Hazare might have never thought that he will get support from more than 'hazaron' in his fight against corruption. An ex army man who devoted his life to public service after he was the only survivor amongst his friends in the war against Pakistan in 1965. The social activist in him started from his own village, Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmadnagar District of Maharashtra. He transformed a mere village into a sustainable model by introducing solar power, windmill, biogas, terracing, tree planting etc. Small yet powerful steps that can pay in reap only if we have the will to do it. Tree planting is not a big deal, but the tree has to be planted, just knowing that won’t suffice. He played a pivotal role in implementing the RTI (Right to Information) Act, first in Maharashtra and then eventually all over. Hunger strike was always his means of protest since early days.
A few months back Anna’s fight against corruption gained public support as soon as people got to know about it from the constant media glare. Being a cause sensitive to all the countrymen including us, he is now a superstar, and no one is cribbing about it, except the government in power of course, and a few so called experts who just want to go against the motion just for the sake of it. Now I’ll try to decode what exactly is Anna fighting for. A Jan Lokpal Bill. Where did this come from? Was it team Anna who drafted this bill from the scratch? No, they did not. Jan Lokpal is a proposed draft by team Anna who thought that the Lokpal bill was too weak to fight against corruption in India. Lokpal bill was already introduced by the government in 2010. So, if passed, Jan Lokpal bill will be a better and stronger version as compared to the Lokpal bill.
That was the background in short, now lets us go to the purpose/function/features of the Jan Lokpal.
According to the draft..
· An independent authority called the LOKPAL will be set up at the central level and there will be LOKATULYA set up for each state. These institutions will not be in any circumstances under the control or influence of the government. Unlike the other Anti-corruption agencies like CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) which comes under the purview of the government and can be easily influenced by the people in power.
· This bill will have provisions where each corruption case will have to be completed within one year of its filing, and if proved guilty the person will be sent to jail within the next year itself. This means the case will not linger on for years. With the present system the case runs so tardily that the convict dies a natural death before the court announces its judgment.
· The maximum sentence for the guilty should be more severe, and increased to a life sentence. Currently it is just seven years.
· The bill also states that the loss incurred by the government or anyone due to corruption will be recovered from the convict. The Lokpal will have the power to confiscate property and other means to recover the amount. This means that people like Kalmadi and Raja can no longer spend seven years in jail and enjoy their life after the completion of their sentence, from the corruption money earned already.
· This will work at the lower level and day to day level as well, the public grievance system will be introduced, wherein people can file direct complains to the Lokatulyas and the case will have to be looked at within 30 days. The Lokpal will have full authority to take actions against the people found guilty. Financial penalty will be imposed on the guilty officers which will be handed over to the complainant as compensation.
· It is proposed in the bill that the anti-corruption units of CBI and CVC should be merged with the Lokpal. And they should also be no longer in control of the government.
· The Lokpal has complete power and authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politicians including the Prime Minister.
· The Lokpal also has provisions for the whistleblowers. The people victimized for raising their voice against corruption will be provided with full security and protection.
· Protection against corrupt people becoming Lokpal members. The selection of the Lokpal members will be completely transparent. They will be selected by judges, commoners, and the people of the society through recommendations. The selection process video will be uploaded on the website and it will be made public. Any complaints of corruption within the Lokpal will be dealt strictly, and if guilty the member will be removed within two months.
Last time round, when Anna went on fast, he was given an assurance by the government that the bill will be passed in the monsoon session. So, what happened to that? Why is Anna fasting again? That’s because the government agreed to pass the bill but only just. The government version of the bill does not cover the main points of the Jan Lokpal which was discussed above. The basic main points that distinct the government draft from team Anna’s draft are as follows:
· LOKATULYA is not covered within the bill. Its only agrees on LOKPAL.
· The government draft wants the anti-corruption unit of CBI and CVC to remain under their own control. So, if the politician is found to be corrupt by the CVC, he will not be executed since the CVC works under the same politician!
· The government draft does not give the power to the Lokpal to file a case or execute the corrupt politician. The Lokpal can only investigate the case and if found guilty, forward the case to the courts for further process. This again makes the whole thing back to square one. India keeps on blaming the system for everything. This is the time to change and bring about a drastic change without fear.
· The maximum sentence for the corrupt has been increased from seven to ten years. Not life sentence, as proposed by Jan Lokpal, which again is too weak keeping in mind the recent scams and the huge amount of money involved in it.
· The government draft does not have provisions to have a transparent selection process within the Lokpal.
· It does not include the Judiciary and Prime Minister under the purview of Lokpal, which means that foreign affair, security and defense issues will be kept out of the scrutiny.
· No penalties proposed in the government draft against the officers involved in corruption. So, there is no chance of compensations to the affected complainant.
Few of the points from the government draft can be considered, but not all. The massive change in the system required, we keep on talking about is here. This is a chance to engulf the opportunity provided by Anna. This is more than a ray of hope. We have always dreamt of our country to compete with the other developed nations around the world, and feel proud of it. We all know that we have the tools to be the best in the world, and we also know that corruption has been the major hindrance. This is the time we really give in our best to shake the government, and support Anna in his endeavor, which I am afraid, is now our endeavor. I am in. are you?
Main bhi Anna Hazare…
