Recent civil movements can influence next pollThose who question the role of civil society in India's battle against corruption should recall the words of US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, one of the great reformers. "In a democracy," Justice Frankfurter said, "the highest office is the office of the citizen."
The government is elected to govern. If it does not, it will be voted out after five years. In the interim, it is the job of citizens, at whose behest the government discharges its constitutional obligations. Civil society globally has catalyzed great change. In the United States, Martin Luther King fought for and won civil rights for African-Americans. That was civil society at its best. In Egypt, civil society ended the 32-year, one-party dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Civil society is leading change in Tunisia.
Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev would not have drawn nationwide support had the UPA government done the job it was elected to do. Corruption does not only corrode the foundations of our democracy but it gives birth to several other ills. A big part of taxpayers' funds meant for anti-poverty programmes do not reach the poor. A government deeply steeped in corrupt practices has little incentive to legislate a strong instutionalised anti-corruption body like the Lokpal.
The question that is commonly asked is should the prime minister come within the purview of the Lokpal? Yes: the prime minister as head of the government must welcome institutional scrutiny - as, for instance, US presidents routinely do - not evade it. Secondly, should the higher judiciary (high court and Supreme Court judges) fall within the purview of the Lokpal? No! In this case what needs to be done is forming of a judicial commission which would hear public complaints against senior judges.
There are moments in a government's life when the tide turns. That moment has arrived for this government. If you recall, the Emergency in 1975 had led to the end of 30 years of uninterrupted Congress governments; In 1987 when Swedish Radio first unveiled the The Bofors scam in 1987 it led to Rajiv Gandhi's 404-MP majority in the Lok Sabha getting reduced to less than 200. And, finally, in 1992 the Babri Masjid issue led to BJP-led NDA forming a government at the Centre. Baba Ramdev's constituency has rural farmers and OBCs, not all of them natural BJP supporters. Baba Ramdev is a Yadav himself. His movement will surely influence the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and the next Lok Sabha poll. It could cost the Congress what it most fears losing: the power
Most politicians regard being in government not as an obligation to serve the citizen but to serve themselves. That is the saddest thing.
The government is elected to govern. If it does not, it will be voted out after five years. In the interim, it is the job of citizens, at whose behest the government discharges its constitutional obligations. Civil society globally has catalyzed great change. In the United States, Martin Luther King fought for and won civil rights for African-Americans. That was civil society at its best. In Egypt, civil society ended the 32-year, one-party dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Civil society is leading change in Tunisia.
Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev would not have drawn nationwide support had the UPA government done the job it was elected to do. Corruption does not only corrode the foundations of our democracy but it gives birth to several other ills. A big part of taxpayers' funds meant for anti-poverty programmes do not reach the poor. A government deeply steeped in corrupt practices has little incentive to legislate a strong instutionalised anti-corruption body like the Lokpal.
The question that is commonly asked is should the prime minister come within the purview of the Lokpal? Yes: the prime minister as head of the government must welcome institutional scrutiny - as, for instance, US presidents routinely do - not evade it. Secondly, should the higher judiciary (high court and Supreme Court judges) fall within the purview of the Lokpal? No! In this case what needs to be done is forming of a judicial commission which would hear public complaints against senior judges.
There are moments in a government's life when the tide turns. That moment has arrived for this government. If you recall, the Emergency in 1975 had led to the end of 30 years of uninterrupted Congress governments; In 1987 when Swedish Radio first unveiled the The Bofors scam in 1987 it led to Rajiv Gandhi's 404-MP majority in the Lok Sabha getting reduced to less than 200. And, finally, in 1992 the Babri Masjid issue led to BJP-led NDA forming a government at the Centre. Baba Ramdev's constituency has rural farmers and OBCs, not all of them natural BJP supporters. Baba Ramdev is a Yadav himself. His movement will surely influence the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and the next Lok Sabha poll. It could cost the Congress what it most fears losing: the power
Most politicians regard being in government not as an obligation to serve the citizen but to serve themselves. That is the saddest thing.
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