how can their bill be called ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’!

Past few days at least in the 24x7 news Channels the only one news which is Team Anna and so called Janlokpal bill. 24x7 news channels seems to be projecting that this is the 2^nd freedom struggle, the voice of Anna Team is the voice of Indian. People who have not seen the JP movement says that this is the only movement that brought thousands of people in the street, feel these people are neither able to read or able to understand what is happening around.

It is also become an fashion to people if you say that you have reservation with respect to Team Anna then they say that I am not against the corruption, this reminds me what Bush said when he was waging war against the terrorism “you declare either you are with us are with them” now Team Anna saying the same thing that either “you are with us or with them” is this be called democracy.

It is important for us to remember what Dr B.R.Ambedkar said, in his last, visionary speech after the submission of the drafted Constitution on November 25, 1949. He warned of three possible dangers to the new-born democracy.

1.      These related to social and economic inequalities,

2.      the use of unconstitutional methods,

3.      and hero-worship.

Dr. Ambedkar first pointed to the contradiction between equality in politics in the form of one-person-one-vote and the inequalities in social and economic life. He argued that for political democracy to succeed, it needed to be founded on the tissues and fibres of social and economic equality. He warned that we must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment, or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy. Although we in India are trying hard to reduce the vast inequalities that exist, the working of political democracy is already under heavy stress due to discontent in some parts of country.

Dr. Ambedkar's second, and more important, warning in the present context related to the methods to achieve social and economic objectives. He urged the people to abandon bloody as well as coercive methods to bring about change. This means abandoning methods of civil disobedience, non-cooperation, coercive forms of satyagraha and fast. Referring to the use of these methods during the British period, Dr. Ambedkar observed: “When there was no way left for the constitutional methods for achieving economic and social objectives, there was a great deal of justification for unconstitutional methods.” But using them since that period, in his view, was “nothing less than the Grammar of Anarchy.” He advocated that “the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us as a nation.”

Dr. Ambedkar's third warning related to “hero worship.” He was immensely concerned over the political culture of “laying down the liberties at the feet of great men or to trust them with powers which enable them to subvert their institutions.” He believed that there is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered life-long services to the country. But there are limits to gratefulness. No man can be grateful at the cost of his honour, and no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty. This caution is far more necessary in the case of the people of India than in the case of any other country, for in India, bhakti, or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship, plays a part in politics, unequalled in magnitude to the part it plays in the politics of any other country in the world, argued Dr. Ambedkar. He went on to add that bhakti or hero-worship in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul, but in politics, bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.

What Dr. Ambedkar said in 1949 is becoming true in letter and spirit in the case of Anna and his team agitation for so called ‘Janlokpal bill’.

What is at the stake today clearly is the secular constitution of the India, what team Anna is intending to do is to subvert the constitution mechanism and take a way the entire power of parlimentry privileges guaranteed under article 105 of the constitution. And also it is further intended to takeaway independency of judiciary stated part 5, chapter 4 of the constitution.

Very basic structure of the constitution distinguishes three different pillars of the state. Which is called doctrine suppression of power from executive and legislature? What Team Anna’s proposed so called ‘Janlokpal Bill’ intendent to take away the very basic doctrine suppression and bring everything under one superpower body.

The preamble promises to secure justice “social, economic and political” for the citizens. A peculiar feature of the Indian Constitution is that it combines social and economic rights along with political and justiciable legal rights. The preamble embodies goal which the State has to achieve in order to establish social justice and to make the means free in the positive sense.

Its seems to be the according to team Anna India’s only problem/biggest problem is corruption. What is ignored is much deep routed problems exist in this country/society such as issue of caste system issue of caste, gender, displacement, tribal etc., various other socio economic issues even though much uglier but not being either noticed or did little in order to eradicate any of this issues.  We are not saying that corruption is not an issue, of course it is. But what we saying is the economic, political, socio economic politic corruption. Which team Anna seems not interested at all. What surprising me is that team Anna is not given a call or not even declared from all is followers that neither I give bribe nor I receive bribe. What minimum can do is declared the people who have come to street today in support of Anna at least declare that “I don’t give bribe I don’t receive bribe”.

I had an occasion to discussion number of people who claim to support team Anna non of this people have red Lokpalbil or Janlokpal Bill, forget reading the debit on the Lokpal Bill the not even red basic structure of the constitution. I appeal this people who talk about democracy and declare the democracy is dead just because Janlokpalbill not accepted as stated by team Anna, to read the constitution of India.

Anna and his team should recognize that for a new democracy like ours, which is operating within the framework of undemocratic relations based on the caste system, constitutional methods and social morality need to be cultivated and promoted with a purpose. The Lokpal Bill is too important a piece of legislation to be passed under threat and unreasonable deadlines. All its aspects need to be discussed with extreme care and with consensus among all sections. Dalits have begun to express concern about its implications for them. In a society where the anti-caste spirit and prejudices are present in abundance, they feel that given its proposed wide-ranging powers, it may be misused.

Team Anna should realize that the Indian Constitution provides ample opportunities for advocacy, through discussion and lobbying with parliamentary Standing Committees, Groups of Ministers, the Ministers concerned, the Prime Minister, courts, and above all through a peaceful agitation. With several political parties on their side, the possibility of reaching a middle ground is high. Experience with constitutional means shows that civil society activists, through their constant struggles, have persuaded the two successive United Progressive Alliance governments to acknowledge several basic rights and convert these into laws. The right to employment through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the right to information, rights under the Forest Act, the right to education, and now the right to food, are some of the revolutionary measures that civil society has been able to accomplish through constitutional methods. It is an opportunity for Team Anna to use constitutional methods and enhance the faith of people in these; otherwise Team Anna will convey the message that only coercive and unconstitutional methods work.

As Dr. Ambedkar observed, due to certain aspects of Indian culture our people are highly vulnerable to hero-worship. How a yoga teacher could convert yoga devotees into religious devotees and finally into political supporters within a few years' time is a classic example of what hero-worship and bhakti can do. Another religious preacher has threatened that he would use his religious followers for political end which he thinks does not require discussion with them as they follow him in whatever he tells them to do.

Today’s people who are campaigning for the Team Anna are the same people who try escape by not paying the traveling ticket in the bus, same people who force police to take bribe while they are caught for drink & drive, same people who smoke in public by violating law. They are also the same people who bribe to visit any of the temples they want to visit. How does the law will bring the change if they are not ready to change in themselves? What is required is the education for the people not to give the bribe. When there is no one to give bribe then it is easy to eradicate/ catch the people who demand the bribe. The biggest issue is not just about only people, who demand the money but it is also the people who give the bribe.

At the end Team Anna need to know that Parliament Members are the leader’s of Jan and not the Team Anna who do not even have a Lady member in their drafting committee, who represent around 50% of Indian population, there is no representation in his team who represent 8.8 % of Tribe’s, who represent around 18% of Dalith, who represent around 53% of OBC’s, and Who represent around 16% of Minorities, how can their bill be called ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’!