Anti-corruption bills, black money and Political gimmicks – all poli-ticking away….! ~ Politics
Every time I watch TV, every time I read newspapers, I wonder who is that ‘person in limelight’ going to be? After Anna Hazare, it is Baba Ramdev basking in the glory of ‘fasting against corruption’! As for Anna Hazare, I have a great deal of respect for him as his reputation of indisputable honesty precedes him. A common man, with an apolitical background and a mass following, Anna Hazare definitely has enough credibility to have initiated an anti corruption slogan by fasting in order to get the Jan Lok Pal Bill passed. So now comes the million dollar question - What is this bill about? And what does this bill contain so that it has not been fortunate enough to see the light of the day until present, albeit it came in notice many times after 1971?
To brief a little, Jan Lok Pal Bill is an anti corruption bill drafted in 1968 and passed in 1969 with little success. The bill was prepared with a sole aim to uproot corruption over and out, irrespective of whosoever is involved in corruption. It gives permission for filing complaints against MPs and MLAs and also the prime minister on grounds of corruption. Besides if the common man would have to bribe his way to get his passport or ration card or his license done on time, this bill would be a respite for him that would help in saving that hard earned money of his! Besides, this bill if implemented would not allow cases to rot as a stack of files in a corner of a police station, but would make sure that they get solved within a couple of years, giving no space for tariqs and Vaidas. The sole aim of this bill is to help sense of justice prevail in people. No wonder, if this bill were implemented, there would be no lucky politicians, unlike P.Raja or Kanimozhi (who were just too upfront about their corruption).
And finally our silent Prime minister, ManMohan Singh decided that the episode of anti-corruption was stretching a tad too long and it had to end, before it tore away the integrity of his government. So he budged in by committing to introduce the bill in the forthcoming monsoon session. However the question that looms large, “Will it be passed this time at least?..... Will this convince the common man that corruption can never be a part of economics?” Time will tell. Meanwhile, Baba Ramdev suddenly sidelined his profession of being a Yoga tutor and took a plunge into the mega episode of ‘fasting until death, until all the black money of corrupt politicians is retrieved from abroad’. I was amused at his outcry. And our dear Man Mohan Singh Ji must have begun cursing the time, he became a prime minister. Or perhaps, he was not used to handling half clowns with half knowledge! Black money? Whoever said, only politicians owned black money? I would refrain from commenting more on Ramdev Baba’s knowledge of economics and politics, as he needs to understand if he were so genuinely concerned about anti corruption thingy, he need not have to be Anna Hazare’s protégé to express his concerns!
However all said and done, from a common man’s perspective, despite the fact that efforts have been put to eradicate corruption, I have little faith in democracy. In fact, like charity begins at home, so does corruption! Paying a buck extra over the meter when availing a rick, paying extra load of cash to secure an engineering seat (or a medical one), bribing receptionists in the hospitals to secure an appointment earlier than the ones who have arrived before time and shelling out the extra notes to get a driving license regardless of whether the person is eligible to drive or not, are just some of the instances of our corruption ridden world. And here we are blaming our politicians for not implementing an anti-corruption bill that has been kept pending for past 42 years. Time and again, we need to be reminded that politicians are no different from us. Only if Baba Ramdev voted regularly (or perhaps, he votes and does not understand its significance), he would not be blaming politicians but the people of our country who abuse democracy in every way possible by not voting for the right leaders! It is time to gulp down the bitter pill of truth and rehabilitate our political mindset, if we want to see the Jan Lok Pal bill see the light of the day very soon! Period.
To brief a little, Jan Lok Pal Bill is an anti corruption bill drafted in 1968 and passed in 1969 with little success. The bill was prepared with a sole aim to uproot corruption over and out, irrespective of whosoever is involved in corruption. It gives permission for filing complaints against MPs and MLAs and also the prime minister on grounds of corruption. Besides if the common man would have to bribe his way to get his passport or ration card or his license done on time, this bill would be a respite for him that would help in saving that hard earned money of his! Besides, this bill if implemented would not allow cases to rot as a stack of files in a corner of a police station, but would make sure that they get solved within a couple of years, giving no space for tariqs and Vaidas. The sole aim of this bill is to help sense of justice prevail in people. No wonder, if this bill were implemented, there would be no lucky politicians, unlike P.Raja or Kanimozhi (who were just too upfront about their corruption).
And finally our silent Prime minister, ManMohan Singh decided that the episode of anti-corruption was stretching a tad too long and it had to end, before it tore away the integrity of his government. So he budged in by committing to introduce the bill in the forthcoming monsoon session. However the question that looms large, “Will it be passed this time at least?..... Will this convince the common man that corruption can never be a part of economics?” Time will tell. Meanwhile, Baba Ramdev suddenly sidelined his profession of being a Yoga tutor and took a plunge into the mega episode of ‘fasting until death, until all the black money of corrupt politicians is retrieved from abroad’. I was amused at his outcry. And our dear Man Mohan Singh Ji must have begun cursing the time, he became a prime minister. Or perhaps, he was not used to handling half clowns with half knowledge! Black money? Whoever said, only politicians owned black money? I would refrain from commenting more on Ramdev Baba’s knowledge of economics and politics, as he needs to understand if he were so genuinely concerned about anti corruption thingy, he need not have to be Anna Hazare’s protégé to express his concerns!
However all said and done, from a common man’s perspective, despite the fact that efforts have been put to eradicate corruption, I have little faith in democracy. In fact, like charity begins at home, so does corruption! Paying a buck extra over the meter when availing a rick, paying extra load of cash to secure an engineering seat (or a medical one), bribing receptionists in the hospitals to secure an appointment earlier than the ones who have arrived before time and shelling out the extra notes to get a driving license regardless of whether the person is eligible to drive or not, are just some of the instances of our corruption ridden world. And here we are blaming our politicians for not implementing an anti-corruption bill that has been kept pending for past 42 years. Time and again, we need to be reminded that politicians are no different from us. Only if Baba Ramdev voted regularly (or perhaps, he votes and does not understand its significance), he would not be blaming politicians but the people of our country who abuse democracy in every way possible by not voting for the right leaders! It is time to gulp down the bitter pill of truth and rehabilitate our political mindset, if we want to see the Jan Lok Pal bill see the light of the day very soon! Period.
Labels: Bubble wrapped thoughts
posted by Narayani Karthik | 9:53 AM
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