For those who believe ‘Team Anna’ is acting like an Extra-Constitutional Authority….
There is no disconnect between 'Team Anna' and the Indian Constitution. Anna has not put a gun on anybody's head to get his version of the 'Lokpal' passed. The Constitution of our Country gives every citizen the fundamental right to indulge in any peaceful form of protest. 'Hunger strike' is one such democratic 'Instrument of Protest' which has been given to us by none other than Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation. If such peaceful forms of protest too are taken away from us, the time will not be far when people will be left with no option but to pick up arms and ammunition - which can lead us to dire consequences; which can tear the fabric of our Nation into pieces; which is what is happening in Maoist ruled areas. 'Peaceful Assembly' and 'Freedom of Expression' are fundamental rights which form the bedrocks of our Constitution. The Government is trying to suppress our rights and freedoms by coining up new phrases like "fascism of the masses" and "tyranny of the unelected". So does that make Mahatma Gandhi a tyrant too? Let us not get carried away by such arrogant catchwords and the Government's attempts to pull the wool over the eyes of the Public. The Government which is using the official machinery to hound peaceful agitators is the fascist tyrannical aggressor in this case. Not Team Anna. The Parliament has taken 42 long years and they still have not been able to enact a strong law to tackle the menace of corruption. The version the present Government has introduced is a joke because it proposes to tackle only high level corruption. This means the common man will not get relief from the bribe he/she is forced to pay to obtain the service that is due to him/her from the Government Institution(s). Besides, the Government's version of the 'Lokpal' is only like an Advisory body with no prosecuting powers. In other words, it is like the many "Commissions of Inquiry" which have been set up occasionally to investigate cases of corruption or communalism. The same Commissions which have ended up achieving nothing more than squandering huge sums of Public money. The ‘Lokpal’ proposed by Anna and his Team may be too harsh but the Government's version is too mild. Through proper talks, a middle ground approach can be worked out. If the Government is sincere in its approach, it must set up a time frame, get into discussions with Team Anna and other sincere and top legal luminaries to enact a strong law that can devise ways and means to investigate, combat and eliminate this dreadful disease which has been haunting our Nation. What we are seeing now is nothing short of the beginning of a Revolution against Corruption, not for or against any one Political Party. Vested interests are making attempts to divide this movement but let us not fall for their tricks and antics. Ours is not a fight against one Political set-up but against all Political outfits which have let the Nation down by allowing the dreaded scourge of corruption to flower and prosper. A strong and effective ‘Lokpal’ which holds all Public Servants accountable to the Public is the real Need of the Hour. Let the Revolution begin! Cheers, Sandeep Heble
