Is the government intent on dealing with corruption? Arvind Kejriwal's repeated assertion was “No!”, and soon, the crowd latched on.
India Against Corruption's Chennai Chapter, along with the IIT Alumni Association, hosted an evening with Arvind Kejriwal at IIT-Madras last Saturday. Kejriwal, a Ramon Magsaysay awardee, had spearheaded the campaign for the Right to Information Act and is now, with Anna Hazare, the face of the Jan Lokpal Bill movement. The meeting was also streamed live to viewers in several parts of India, Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East.
Advocating the Bill
Unpretentious as always, Arvind Kejriwal began by quoting Hong Kong's anti-corruption protests of the 1970s. Outraged citizens, especially students, revolted against the rotting administrative system in the city, forcing the government to pass the Independent Commission Against Corruption law. Today, Hong Kong is one of the cleanest economies in Asia. The Jan Lokpal Bill hopes to achieve the same, Kejriwal said. But the implicit question is: is the country ready to fight for it?
The agitation for the Lokpal has played itself out on TV for a few months now — Anna Hazare's fast unto death in early April, the huge outpouring of support at Jantar Mantar, and the Centre okaying a Joint Drafting Committee for the Bill.
“But as soon as the Committee met, the government started throwing muck at us,” Kejriwal interjected. The committee's civil society representation was attacked with alarming regularity, even as ministers on the committee made unilateral decisions, brushing away Team Anna's demands. The committee died a quick death and two versions of the Bill emerged — the original Jan Lokpal Bill as envisioned by the civil society activists and the Government's Lokpal Bill. Drafts of both Bills are available online, as well as a list of differences.
Contrasts
Kejriwal argued that the government's version, almost toothless and lacking any of the original's vehemence, will be unable to probe even cases like the 2G spectrum scam, CWG, Taj Corridor case, Adarsh etc — some of the biggest controversies in recent Indian history. Another bone of contention is the jurisdiction of the government's bill — it excludes the Prime Minister, higher judiciary, lower bureaucracy, panchayats, and all State government machinery. There is no protection to whistleblowers, no consensus on state Lokayuktas, the CBI remains under the Union's control and parliamentary immunity to MPs remains unaffected. The activists do not want to make the Lokpal a mere advisory body, but the government is keen, he says, on creating an anti-corruption institution as benign as the CVC, the NHRC and until recently, the CAG. The government wants a lap dog, Team Anna a blood hound.
The government intends to introduce its Bill in Parliament in the session that began on Monday. Kejriwal appealed to his audience to take to the streets in non-violent resistance, before time runs out. “Turn off your lights for one hour on August 15, from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.,” he urged, “because Independence has only plunged us in darkness.” He called upon students to burn copies of the government's bill, join candle marches and educate villagers on the pointlessness of the government's law. “They can crush only one Anna Hazare, not 120 crore.”
Kejriwal also took questions, responding to allegations of the Lokpal becoming a ‘Frankenstein' or parallel government, the legalisation of bribes, the activists contesting elections, electoral reforms and black money stashed abroad.
While the government argues that the separation of powers in a democracy is paramount and the Jan Lokpal would defeat this rationale, Kejriwal's response is, “We are only ordinary citizens. We are being looted, we are being robbed. But we dare to raise our voice against corruption.” Clearly, the country is nearing its inflection point.
The evening with Arvind Kejriwal was preceded by a panel discussion by senior professors and a debate by college students on “Who is responsible for cleansing the system — the government or the public?” They concluded that the government has its own incentives for being corrupt (eg. freebies during elections to bribe the voters) and civil society makes this a vicious cycle. Where there is failure by the government, the public must act as the bulwark against malpractice. The students don't expect the Jan Lokpal to be a panacea for all ill, but it definitely is a step in the right direction.
Will you protest?
The Jan Lokpal Rally in Chennai
@Marina Beach, behind the Gandhi statue
When: August 06, 2011
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Tanya is a student of Asian College of Journalism.
