The citizen and the state.
The agitations by Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev against corruption and black money have highlighted the limitations of our democratic republican polity to provide good governance. All the three scams – 2G Spectrum scam, CWG scam and the Adarsh scam – were exposed by vigilant citizens rather than by the state institutions constituted to find out and punish such corruption cases. The CBI pursued the cases only after the courts asked it to investigate.
Anna Hazare and some concerned citizens came together under the banner of the NGO, India Against Corruption (IAC), and took up the issue of corruption. It received tremendous response all over the country as almost all citizens of the country have first-hand experience of the corrupt ways of the government departments and the government institutions. Many people joined his fast in various cities. The response of the people compelled the government to agree to have a joint drafting panel consisting of ministers and IAC to constitute the institution of Lokpal to investigate cases of corruption at all levels of governance which was pending for the last 42 years.
After a few meetings of the joint panel, both sides have said that there are differences of opinion with regard to the purview of the Lokpal and the methodology of selection of the Lokpal. While IAC wants the PM, MPs and the higher judiciary to be within it purview, ministers have reservations on this issue. IAC has a strong case to include these institutions of governance as they have failed to uphold probity in public life. The PM ignored the indications of scam with his mantra of 'coalition dharma'. No MP has been punished in JMM bribery case and no progress has been made in the case of heap of notes on the table of the Lok Sabha during the voting for Indo-US nuclear agreement. Some members of the higher judiciary have not come up to the expectations of people and the Constitution – impeccable integrity. Now the issue will go to the all-party meeting, and later to the cabinet and the parliament.
Similarly, when Baba Ramdev with his lakhs of followers raised the issue of black money hidden in banks abroad, the government tried to persuade him not go with his fast as it has taken initiatives to bring it back. Four central government ministers met him to explain the government's stand. As he was not convinced about the government's effort to bring back black money, he decided to continue his agitation with his followers – men, women and children - gathered on the Ram Lila ground. They were asked to vacate the place at mid-night when they were sleeping, and were later dispersed with lathi charge and tear-gas shells. As many as 70 were injured and one of them is still in the ICU.
This is reminiscent of the mid-night arrests of opposition leaders after declaring emergency. It also has some resemblance to Jalianwala Bagh during the British Raj. One wonders whether we are living under a government of the people, by the people and for the people or under a dictatorship where dissent or opposition is crushed with force. Our government has not out-grown the British Raj or the Emergency Raj.
The fear of being seen as complicit in corruption and black money seems to be the motive behind the engagement with Anna and Baba. Later, when the government failed to carry conviction with them, Anna was given a hearing but Baba was beaten up. Why is the ruling party reluctant to institute a strong Lokpal who can book all people who misappropriate our national wealth? Is there something they want to hide from the people? We do not know. However, the response to peaceful agitations by the government does not behove a responsive and responsible government.
Now the question is: what is the status of a citizen in a democratic republic when he finds that the government is not taking sufficient action on corruption and black money? Is it not his right to highlight, propagate, agitate, create public opinion and pressurize the government to act? This is what the media does everyday. This is what Mahatma Gandhi did during the freedom struggle. This is what Martin Luther King did in USA to get equal status to the African-Americans. The public have a role to play in a republic, not just to vote but to participate in governance.
The duty of a citizen does not end with his voting in the elections once in five years. If there is some injustice in governance or insensitivity towards the welfare of people, he has to convey his displeasure to the government through petitions, protests and demonstrations. This is his duty and an obligation as a citizen
If eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, it is also the price of good governance. Participation of citizens in governance is to be welcomed. Citizens come together whenever there is a large cause. People had responded to Lokanayak Jaya Prakash Narayan in the early 'seventies to stem the rising tide of corruption and inflation. Now they have responded to the call of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev to fight corruption and black money which have assumed alarming proportions and seeped into all spheres of life.
However, the reaction of the Congress and some commentators in newspapers are intriguing. Senior members of the Congress started questioning the probity of some members of the IAC. They asked for a probe into the finances of Anna Hazare's NGO and some financial transactions of the members of IAC. A general secretary of the Congress asked for the accounts of institutions run by Baba Ramdev. He was even called, "a thug". They were branded as the 'mask' of RSS and BJP. Is the smear campaign the answer to the questions they have raised?
Then there were curious comments by some eminent journalists. They called them, "unelected" and even "unelectable". They forget that the cap fits the present PM. They said fast is not democratic. That is how Andhra was created during Nehru's time. They pointed out that a small section of civil society cannot claim to be the voice of the people. What about NAC of the Congress President? They questioned the selection committee suggested by the IAC panel. We all know how the last CVC was selected. However, one can still question some of the suggestions and pronouncements of IAC and Ramdev. The critical issue for them and the people is – how to catch the big fish which escape the tax net of the nation and affect the welfare of Indian people especially that of 300 million poor who live below the poverty line?
If a powerful Lokpal cannot be a part of the structure of governance envisaged by our Constitution, there is an alternative. Let's have a special bench of two or three judges in the Supreme Court and the High Courts to deal with only corruption charges especially that of the high and the mighty, and fast track their prosecution. There are so many MPs and MLAs with criminal record and their cases should be fast-tracked. This bench should have the power to question the PM, MPs and the top bureaucrats, if there is a prima facie case. CVC and CBI can work under this bench. As far as wrong-doing by the members of the higher judiciary is concerned, we can have panel of three judges consisting the CJI and two recently retired judges of the Supreme Court with a mandate to decide the case within a specified period.
It does not matter whether the cat is black or white, it should catch the mice. Crime should be punished and the national wealth should go to the nation.
June 29,2011.
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