Blotted Journalism

Journalists have been source of information for administration since the time of 2nd World War. India has imported the style of engaging journos for gathering intelligence on politics as well as crimes. Trading of information between the journalist fraternity and Intelligence agencies went on rise and reached a point of equilibrium; so much so that ethics ceased to exist. Some did it for status, some for career while some for money.

The ugliest form of info-sharing journalism was seen during the 2G spectrum scam when we heard Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi operating as touts; amidst the political lobbying that was on for the portfolio of Telecom Minister. It is government’s kind approach towards the journalistic fraternity that neither of them is made an accused.
Shivani Bhatnagar made a posthumous impact upon the journalist fraternity when the hidden details of her relationship with some bureaucrats and politicians were revealed during investigations. Unholy proximity to the subjects of journalism is the root or fundamental evil of all the tragedies that journos have had to face; either by virtue of loss of name or due to some legal consequences.
Mumbai being the commercial capital of India; has some weighty examples of unholy nexus between journalists and their subjects such as officials, politicians and underworld dons. The sensational J. Day murder case has brought to the fore this nexus more clearly than all earlier occasions. Having covered the crime beat for around three decades, Dey had naturally developed affiliations in legitimate as well as illegitimate walks of life. Bootleggers, matka-den operators are regular paymasters of crime reporters residing in respective areas. Visionless and routine crime reporters thrive on their money and retire peacefully. Dey-like ambitious reporters aim high and possess heavy appetite. Their morals become flexible in the initial period of their career and later vanish. Switching of loyalties is not a great affair when it comes to money. It may not be so frequent in underworld as it is in journalism. Whether it is for higher pay-scale in another newspaper or for a “heavier Diwali” by a gangster; a journo can swing like a Pilipino bi-sexual. He/she can switch loyalties so fast that even seasoned politicians shall envy the promptness and swiftness of such a journalist.
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I am no Anna

When it comes to Gandhi, (Mahatma to Madam), everyone criticizes; when it comes to their good deeds, they want be called Gandhian. India, a country of one billion plus, still depend on these dinosaurs to lead us. Why can’t we make up a political party which is totally secular, unlike other parties which divide Indians into Dalits, Muslims and Christians? It does not even acknowledge the presence of the majority Hindus. There is a need for a political party made up of educated young men dedicated to the upliftment of India and its poor and treating every Indian as an equal, and on his merit. After all, you can admit a donkey to Engineering or Medical school but you can’t make him a thoroughbred race horse.

The Parliament was formed since the all the citizens can't assemble at a place and hence their representatives were elected as MPs/MLAs. Now the Technology has become very advance. We can discuss the issue through Media, Internet, Papers or any other means and can Caste Vote through Mobiles, Internet and other format. At a given time, out of 544 MP's, hardly few are available in the Parliament. The MP's make a mockery of the Parliament. Even to reach parliament and seek votes, other parties are bribed. The most corrupt Parliament decides the fate of and progress of this country.

We don't need the Parliament now. We can franchise our votes through the latest technology. It is important to adopt points in Jan LokPal bill; Team Anna did not force the Jan Lok Pal bill in its purest format. We are very well aware of the team formed and them reaching out to all politicians. Dear Sir, you were PM material, but we expect clear intent and desire about such subject, which affects every Indian. We do not need any confusing statements.

Swami Agnivesh, who is on board Team Anna, walked out of the mission due to the differences with other members. Same happened with Hegde. He too cut off himself from team Anna, infact he is the one who drafted this bill. Agnivesh ridiculed Anna’s agitation saying this is some sort of..., seen as a threat to the Parliament, with the condition 'you do it by tomorrow or day after'. This is not becoming of a Gandhian fast or a moment. He said the movement against corruption has been total, peaceful and non-violent and got solidarity from all across the country. So this was the right moment to call it off. But even if it is being called off tomorrow or if it is prolonged and somebody insists on passing the bill, we should respect parliamentary procedures and the Constitution. Too much of dictatorship of Kiran bedi and imposition from kejriwal, somewhere Anna’s mission is going haywire. Now, except the sponsor people on the Ramleela ground, common public as such lost the interest, those who are publicity mongers are reaching Ramleela to see the fasting old man not with any intention to support his mission.

BJP also surprised people by withdrawing support all of sudden; this is the true colour of BJP. Confused party, there is no proper stand on the lokpal issue. On one side party leader Gadkari said BJP is fully supporting the lokpal. On the other hand, Advani is saying passing Anna’s lokpal under the given clauses is difficult in such short span. All the politicians are corrupt, BJP is not exceptional. May be there are few issues in the current Jan Lok Pal. Why political parties not willing to create a strong bill against corruption? Do they want all the parties to support corruption? Without sticking to each of the provisions of Jan Lokpal that is not self-righteous, the main spirit of the bill has to be respected by the government and they have to introduce their own bill so that they are morally bound to get it passed. The twist in the issue is activists are deeply divided over the anti corruption movement led by Anna Hazare. This is the time when Anna and his team should not stand on false prestige. It should gauge the public mood and the aspirations of the youth, students and the ordinary people.

The government should also realise that the proposed Lokpal bill draft falls much short of the people's aspirations. Instead of sitting on technicalities that the bill is the property of the Parliament and so on, the government has already rectified its stand and got the issue in parliament for discussion and they are trying to make it an effective legislation. Parliament should be respected, but the supreme parliament - people - should get higher respect. Anna and his team have realised that Public sentiment is against corruption. Now, nobody can stop this yearning for transparency and accountability. Among individuals and groups, families and communities, the talk narrows down to one point: Corruption and the mounting corruption in the country. Probably this is the reason Anna is inflexible over several appeals by Government.

I don't support Anna's movement at all; neither does he represent me in any way. He has adopted a demanding attitude in his fight against corruption and is affiliated to right-wing Hindu groups. Everyone is been fighting the government pressing for some legislation like the communal violence bill. But that doesn't mean Anna’s team can undermine the existing democratic institutions of India. Framing laws need deep engagements, holistic consultations. Bills aren't Maggie noodles that you cook for two minutes and are ready to eat. What Anna is proposing is an anti-democratic Lokpal. It would take away all the power from existing institutions and suddenly we will have an over-arching and super-power like institution. For that, a necessary condition is the creation of a social consciousness which would decisively disapprove and reject the culture of favouritism and nepotism. Moreover, one must also need to define corruption. Are we only worried about the monetary corruption? Does this lokpal cover all that? Or they are ignoring morally corrupt behavior of the people?

The Jan Lokpal Bill thus raises the conflict of interest, as well as the merger of powers correctly separated by the Constitution, to the level of structural principles.
Even if the office of the Lokpal is constituted as an 11-member panel, will these members be attending personally to the torrent of complaints that will pour onto their desks every day? The Lokpal’s office will require machinery far faster than any so far in existence in India. Who is going to monitor the Lokpal’s super-bureaucracy? Slowly everyone is realising the ground facts. However, greed for power and credit earning aim result in dumping and parting from main issues.

Who says Anna is Gandhi?

Fully packed publicity stunts with good PR and promotions, this agitation has taken worst shape. Every day unwanted SMSs and calls from marketing agencies stating how great is Anna and his Satyagraha, bothers everyone. Too much of hammering on national television, the charm of this agitation is fading away somewhere down the line.
By wearing a Gandhi topi and white Dhoti one can never become Gandhi, Anna declaring himself as Gandhi is a blot on the ‘Father of the Nation’.

Gandhiji always believed in creating awareness and discussing the issues with taking large number of people in confidence. He never asked people to resort to violent means or gave liberty to anyone for creating ransack in public life. He never believed in show off or false displays. His fight for freedom has grace. Anna Hazare himself was corrupt at times; he used government machineries’ for his personal benefit. He misused trust funds, his relatives are his successors. What now people are painting about him is just an eye wash and exaggeration.

If Hazare would have been really an honest man then the corruption issues in Maharashtra would have evaporated by now. Whenever he raised his voice over sugar factory scams, land gabbing issues, farmer’s issues, instead of being strict he took good will and perks from them. That’s the reason Anna couldn’t deter Maharashtra Government and its ministers.

Did not we protest against the British and saved our country from the clutches of its tyranny? Did it solve our problems and are we happy? The issue of corruption and satyagraha by Anna was important, but his team is taking him for a ride. Instead of depending on Kejriwal, and Kiran Bedi, he should have invited others people such as Aruna Roy and her team taken into confidence and ensured a dialogue instead of resorting to fast for demands that would undermine supremacy of the Parliament. I was really shocked to see G R Khairnar and Desarda, a former member of the Maharashtra planning board and Hazare's associate for two decades, pointing flaws in Anna and his movement. Anna had some drawbacks, which others exploited at times. Anna always has a coterie around him who get influenced. It could become a problem, as there could be people with vested interests in this coterie. In fact, this is the reason many respected personalities who used to work with Hazare distanced themselves from him, now.

Anna’s knowledge of the Constitution and law was limited and he relied on people around him. Even at this time, he is under the control of people like Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, Santosh Hegde, Swami Agnivesh and Kiran Bedi. In fact, he should have taken others into confidence in larger public interest instead of monopolising the movement. Khainar termed Hazare's fast unwarranted and unwise. Many have the opinion that Anna has become a pawn in the hands of Bedi and Kejriwal. In addition, communal forces have jumped into the agitation. Government made blunder by arresting Anna, otherwise today he wouldn’t have gained sympathy waves.

Khairnar had also launched a campaign against corruption and criminalisation of politics in the 90s. He distances himself from this movement of Hazare because he found him conflicting personality. In 1995 was his inconsistent approach towards the issue. Hazare told Khairnar not to speak against Sharad Pawar because he is holy cow of Maharashtra and later, he met Bal Thackeray and asked him to eliminate corruption. Riding on the wave, the Sena-BJP combine found it easier to win power in Maharashtra in the 1995 assembly elections. As per Khairnar, Anna’s associates are exploiting his popularity and misleading the whole movement. In the recent past, Y.P. Singh, former IPS officer, claims that he had given Anna Hazare Adarsh papers to seek ouster of Deshmukh and Shinde from cabinet. However, Anna kept quiet.

Anna is a simple man and has hardly travelled outside his village to understand the nitty-gritty of the whole issue. The government's draft may be weak but even Anna's proposals have provisions which run contrary to the Constitution of India. Are we not protesting against the corruption? Will it solve our problem? The fight for independence, fight against right and wrong, and fight against corruption will remain as long as human race exist on this earth. One should publicise the history of mankind from several thousand years.

Team Anna wants a written commitment from the government assuring that a bill with Jan Lokpal elements will be passed this Parliament session. The main issue that seems to have resolved during the talks held between the two sides is that the PM will now be included within the purview of the Lokpal Bill. But if MP’s are included within the purview of the Lokpal Bill then they must include business man, corporate house and NGO’s too. The actual corruption is here.

Determined to break the deadlock over the ballooning agitation led by Hazare, the Congress pulled out all stops to end the row and appealed for suppleness and moderation from all stakeholders on the Lokpal bill. Government called an all-party meeting to break the logjam. But the paths and methodologies used by the government and Hazare's team are different. Still the government is committed to passing a constitutionally valid and the best possible Lokpal legislation with inputs from civil society with the broadest possible consensus. And they are open to talk with everyone concerning this issue. Team Anna wants written assurance on Lokpal and government wants play safe by not committing anything. So far nothing concrete has happened. Let us see how many more meeting takes place to settle this issue. All party meeting at 7, Race Course Road, PM’s residence has not come to any conclusion, today. Let see who wins the final race…

It’s too early to conclude over Lokpal

The letter written by prime minister seems to be mere formality; it’s nowhere close to the demands of Anna and his team. It is very clear that the government is trying to give the message that several clauses in the Anna’s draft is not practical and it won’t be accepted as it is. Moreover, his letter also tried to make a precise point that there are other groups of civil societies too and that the Government will consider their point of view. Prime Minister rubbished the basic demands of team Anna by saying that boils down to semantic debate.
Any ways let us be practical. We all love bribes, whether they are good or bad. But, for some, definitely it is not a good idea. For the people belonging to middle and small income group, it is not something that really makes them happy unless they get their work done by bribing the concerned authorities.
Unless the Indian masses are taken into confidence, the movement cannot succeed. I have no hesitation in stating that the members of Team Anna appear to be more focused at hogging the limelight by their ubiquitous presence before the TV Media. Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi are media crazy. They must share the information with the masses who are agitated all across the country. They cannot hijack the movement spearheaded by Anna Hazare by any means.
One fails to understand how and why the politicians with shady credentials like Sandeep Dikshit, son of Sheila Dikshit, are being associated with the secret parleys between Salman Khursheed, the Law minister and Arvind Kejriwal? Does it need it be recalled that the reputation of the son and mother duo is at stake in the context of CWG and other Scams. How could they be privy to talks between Team Anna and Team Congress? This is most unfortunate that the government is dealing with the agitation in the most casual manner. It is time they realise that if anything happens to Anna, the movement will not remain peaceful and it would indeed be impossible for them to control the situation.
If you are not a politician or a Congress supporter, then you can understand what I want to explain to you. The services of the Police are available to us to handle issues of corruption (like if anybody riding bike without helmets). But can you tell me if any police employee indulges in corruption, then how will you to handle that case? Like that we have all kinds of rules to handle the common people but why we don't have good rules or laws to prevent the Judiciary or the politicians from being corrupt? That is why the public servants do not think twice before accepting bribes from the common citizens. They are almost playing with our democracy and our country. If we are asking to frame a law to handle these corrupt politicians, police and government officials then what is the wrong with that? Politicians are scared because Jan lokpal will expose their corrupt practices. We have to force them to make laws (Jan lokpal) to handle their corruption otherwise they will not make any such law with would go against them.
We need the Jan lokpal bill to pass to punish corrupt politicians and all other public servants. If we are able to pass the Jan Lokpal bill, then these sectors (politics, police and government) will be corruption free, once these sectors will become corruption free, then they will work honestly to make our country corruption fee. All this sounds like an unrealistic story. Let it be Anna’s lokpal or Aruna’s lokpal; just by passing the bill nothing can be achieved; there is no guarantee of clean governance even if these bills are passed.
The initial step has to be taken by the people of India; but by going door to door, we are just making mockery by creating violence. By panicking minister’s family, by using bad words under the cover of Anna, one cannot achieve anything; rather, the revolution would take an ugly turn. Even team Anna has also realised this.
While addressing his supporters, Anna gave them a clear message that they should not take the path of violence; that if they do, the government will crush them. The government is very powerful. Non-violence is a very “powerful weapon,” he said. But the point is that why did he order people to go door to door and who was there to check the credentials of these support groups visiting minister’s places? In a way, this is breach of security and you are asking your supporters to violate the security rules. This is the reason the government has not been able to crush us so far. There was also a group of people who had come drunk to the venue and created ruckus last week. Finally 74 years old Hazare had to appeal to all his supporters not to come drunk. Even otherwise, they should not drink or smoke as it affects their health.
Hazare's associates demanded that the government appoint an official representative for talks on the Lokpal Bill even as the anti-corruption activist's health deteriorated with eight days of fasting and doctors advised him maximum rest. An early solution to the Lokpal logjam is in sight, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh writing to Anna Hazare to call off his fast. This comes amid government and Team Anna getting ready for direct talks, with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee representing the government. The prime minister is also holding a high-level meeting to resolve the issue. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi may also attend it. Moreover when Rahul is holding meetings with everyone over the lokpal bill issue, then why is he not meeting Hazare? Or why has he never visited him? Meanwhile, hectic back-channel negotiations were going on between Team Anna as the fast continued for the eighth day. As Hazare's health took a turn for worse, the government began talks on multiple fronts.
Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who met members of Hazare's core group, opened negotiations with opposition parties. The office of Prime Minister deputed government's top most crisis manager Mukherjee and Law Minister Salman Khurshid to salvage the festering standoff. The government is also falling back on the senior Marathi ministers in the UPA cabinet. Many of them like former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh are considered close to Hazare. The help of Sushil Kumar Shinde and Sharad Pawar has also been sought. Social Activists Swami Agnivesh too spoke to Khurshid.
Till Monday, Anna was quite reluctant that he will speak to only Rahul or Prime Mimister, and today when they realised government’s adamancy and Ann’s health, Kejriwal clarified that Hazare had not insisted that he will talk only with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi. He wants to meet someone who is officially sent by the government. In its proposal, it is learnt that the government has proposed that the Lok Sabha Speaker can take decision to send the Jan Lokpal Bill directly to the Standing Committee. The government has also proposed that the prime minister be brought under Lokpal, although an inquiry can be initiated against him only after he remits office. To strengthen the judiciary, the government has proposed that a judicial standard accountability bill will be introduced in Parliament. It also proposes to include civil society members in the draft panel. A separate grievance redressal mechanism has been proposed, which will hear the complaints against government officials and departments.
The government has also proposed that once the Lokpal Bill is passed, all state chief ministers would be asked to appoint Lokayuktas on the basis of Jan Lokpal.
Let see what would be the outcome of the high end drama of meetings and negotiations.