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Is Team-Anna going the GBA way?
By Nisser Dias
nisserdias at gmail.com
SMS to 9422437029
In the current week we are hearing on the television and reading on the
newspapers that there has been a lot of mix-up and misunderstanding
between the members of Team Anna. Two prominent personalities like noted
lawyer Prashant Bhushan and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal were assaulted.
Another two members quit core committee of 22. Then there is confusion
between Anna Hazare and Prashant Bushan over the latter’s comment on
Kashmir.
What Team Anna was for the entire country, Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) was
for Goa. Sadly though as both the movements grew and received immense
support from the citizens of the country and the state, believing that
these groups would catapult us into a new era or rather a new India,
where corruption at all levels would be curtailed and destruction of our
hills and fields and shoreline and our countryside would be stopped.
Instead cracks developed in the groups. Some personalities who came into
limelight because of the movement, carved a lifesize image of themselves
and became despotic. They started considering themselves bigger than the
issue and the entire structure started crumbling and finally bit the
dust. It happened to GBA and similar situation is unfolding in Team Anna.
The reason being each core member wanted his will to be adopted, each
core member wanted to be the spokesperson of the movement, each of them
had their own opinions on the issue and instead of coming to a consensus
within the core group, they publicly voiced their opinions even going to
the extent of indulging in character assasination thereby creating a
divide among themselves. Some members in the GBA became so addicted to
being in the public eye that they did not want to resolve issues but
wanted, ‘The mess to continue’.
Team Anna is going through a similar crisis that GBA has already
experienced. Can we forget that after the massive GBA rally at Azad
Maidan in December 2006, some miscreants had vandalized Patricia Pinto’s
house at Campal in a bid to dissuade her, many other members had
received threatening calls to disassociate themselves from GBA, but the
movement carried on for some time with vigour and enthusiasm because of
collective decision making. However when the movement slowed down, some
publicity hungry members felt like fish out of water due to lack of
being seen on television or news dailies. Similar situation seems to
have developed in the Anna Team with eminent lawyer being manhandled and
a shoe being thrown at Kejriwal. Then Prashant Bhushan making a public
statement on Kashmir and the media aligning the same as the stand
adopted by Team Anna thereby creating differences between prominent
members of Team Anna.
Another parallel that can be drawn from Team Anna and GBA is that both
the movement had managed to put the governments in power be it at the
Union or state level in the dock and forcing them to retract from its
stand and follow the dictum of the people of this country and state.
Team Anna and GBA tasted success at every stage with great difficulty
though. It is at a crucial stage like this that either members of the
group or people at large start expecting more. They view activist as an
aspirant to contest the election and being their voice in assembly or
Parliament. But when the person who is seen as their choice outright
rejects the proposal then the masses feel betrayed. And Dr.Oscar Rebello
a victim of such a campaign. He led the GBA movement from the front. He
was seen as a new avatar to replace our corrupt elected representatives
but when he refused he was painted as a traitor.
Similar situation is likely to arise in Team Anna, citizens of this
country will expect Team Anna to form a party and contest elections and
if that does not happen, Anna’s fight against corruption will be termed
as a farce and maybe a show to collect money from people.
Then just as GBA initiated a programme by organizing public meetings all
over the state to educate voters on whom to vote, how to vote and why to
vote, Team Anna also started such a programme but the difference was
they visited places where by-polls were being held and urged voters not
to cast their ballot in favour of the Congress party and it did have the
required effect, Congress candidates in four different states were
defeated. Nevertheless Team Anna also suffered a setback as two of its
members Rajendra Singh and P V Rajagopal quit as members of the Core
Committee as they felt that the Team was turning political.
Be that as it may, the writing on the wall is crystal clear for decade
long rule of Congress led UPA government at the Union level and the 5
years old Digmabar Kamat government at the state level that Team Anna
factor is going to play a major role in the ensuing assembly elections
in the state and four other states that are going to polls next year.
If the Union government continues to dilly-dally with the Jan Lokpal
Bill and fail to table and see its safe passage in the Parliament during
the winter session the Congress regime is bound to face the wrath of
Team Anna and its supporters all over the country even though during its
reign in power for the last ten years high profile politicians are
incarcerated in Tihar jail on charges of corruption.
In Goa, ministers in Digambar Kamat led government are alleged to have
amassed huge amount of money, wealth and assets during the last five
years, but the wheels of justice have not yet started churning in Goa
but I hope that very soon they are going to move. But we should not wait
for it to happen we should make it happen and make it happen during the
2012 assembly elections by refusing to vote for corrupt candidates and
vote for new faces whose integrity is intact. I will not say not to vote
for a particular party because we hardly have a choice and worse still
regional party office bearers in Goa are as bad as national political
party leaders.
The only choice before us is to elect an educated, articulate candidate
– independent or otherwise who will stand up against corruption and
injustice. A candidate who will function as per the pulse of the people
and not by party dictats. I very well know that I am talking of an ideal
candidate and let’s hope we find some, maybe so far we have expected
them to fall from heaven but this time round let’s put our hands
together and start digging a little deeper till we find them. (ENDS)
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First published in Gomantak Times, Goa - October 20, 2011
