Anna Hazare, no doubt, hijacked mass awakening against plutocratic misrule to a peripheral syndrome that we have discussed earlier.
To the right-wingers’ delight, this has succeeded in stymieing for the time being the revolutionary uprising against creation of an India of the rich within the India of the Indians.
Yet, the way Manmohan Singh government has responded to his fast for creation of Jan Lokpal is indicative of how the misrulers are in fidgets when faced with forcing circumstances to act against grafts. Developments that we have marked, make me sure of this.
One:
The Prime Minister, nervous of public wrath against misrule on watching public response to Anna’s April fast, as a way-out, elevated him to an extra-constitutional partner in law making by deputing his ministers to co-author with him a draft Bill for his conceived Lokpal. But when the ministers failed to hoodwink him and his team, they were recalled as clumsily as they were engaged and the government rushed into placing a rash draft before the Loksabha claiming official prerogative in that regard, with Dr. Singh asserting that it is the Parliament’s prerogative to pass the Bill with whatever amendment it thinks necessary to form a powerful Lokpal which the civil society wants.
Two:
As Anna went on threatening with fast from August 16, 2011 against this betrayal, the police was used to frustrate that by denying him the location he wanted to carry out his program.
Even as senior ministers were engaged to convince the public that there was no political pressure on the police to deny him permission for fasting at his preferred site, Dr. Singh tried to play his misleading best from the customary Independence Day podium where crux of his speech was devoted to the issue of corruption, while, shrewdly, he was stressing that eradication of corruption would not be possible through hunger-strikes. If Lokpal is needed to end corruption, and a specific law is required for that, his government has already placed a Bill for the purpose before the Parliament, he said.
Three:
The police with a motive to suppress his proposed agitation and to browbeat his team, arrested Anna.
Even though the union home minister was claiming that there was no political interference in police work, and in arresting Anna, the police has acted as per its own wisdom and shall continue to act free of pressure, it was political dictation alone that set him free sans any charge or condition.
Shenanigans were such that he was, on his own accord, allowed to stay in the jail till the Ramlila Maidan in the very heart of the Capital city was prepared to host his fast, the preceding police stance completely discarded.
Such a farce of putting a person in jail and releasing him under orders not of judiciary but as the government wanted and allowing him to stay in jail till he decides to come out to start his fasting in the public, is unprecedented and indicative only of the nervousness that Manmohan Singh government suffers from, when faced with an agitation against corruption.
Four:
As the fasting went on, Dr. Singh not only frequently deputed his ministers to persuade Anna to give up, but also particular officers of high rank, believed to be having personal rapport with Anna, were summoned from his home state to prevail upon him not to continue with the fast.
And, the Parliament was made to jump over its rules to offer a standing ovation to Anna, as the Prime Minister put his salutes to him on records of the House and the Speaker got off her chair to take a standing position to express the appreciations of the whole House of what contribution he has made to the country by fasting against corruption and to appeal him on behalf of the entire House to end his fast. In this exercise, Dr. Singh had to say on records that the House shall consider the official Bill along with the parallel Bill Anna has been insisting upon and two other documents – not on records as Bills but purported to be so- sans any prejudice, if that helps improvisation of the official Bill, the aim being creation of a “strong” Lokpal.
This unprecedented stance never matches with the stance that gave birth to the official Bill placed before the Loksabha and makes it clear that afraid of what would happen, the political power holders have resorted to this tactics.
Five:
Yet again, through Rahul Gandhi, fresh attempts were made to freeze the Bills sine die under veil of giving the Lokpal a constitutional status and validity.
Halting of the announced agenda to discuss Anna’s Bill on Friday and Rahul’s reading out a written speech stressing upon bestowal of constitutional status to the Lokpal like that of the Election Commission which has amusing similarity with the versions of former CEC T.N.Seshan, is not without any time-consuming idea.
But people’s wrath against the politicians basking under the powers and privileges of Parliament is so very visible that the parliamentarians next day did not put any premium on Rahul’s suggestion and in stead, adopted a resolution to accommodate the three points advanced by Anna in the Lokpal Bill that stress upon the scope of the ombudsman’s area of operation only.
Criminals are happy:
The criminals and politicians in power – there are 180 members in the parliament that reportedly have criminal antecedents – are happy that the mass awakening against plutocratic misrule has been successfully channelized into an Annanized agitation against corruption and finally has fizzled out by adoption of a resolution in the Loksabha to create a Lokpal with jurisdiction comprising the areas Anna has stressed upon.
Anna has ended his fast at the summit of his image building as the new Indian messiah by corporate media as well as political stooges of capitalism, to whom the ever expanding left-revolution against the environment of plutocracy in India is a matter of constant worry.
By agreeing to incorporate Anna’s three suggestions in creation of a “strong” Lokpal and by giving a day to the Loksabha to express its mind thereon, the misrulers have of course evaded the instant pressure and succeeded in stymieing the left upsurge.
Whether or not he has hoodwinked the gullible people or himself has been hoodwinked by plutocrats in power, is a different matter to materialize in course of time; but, for now, it is apparent that, Hazare has made the misrulers fidget.
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