AN OPEN LETTER TO ANNA HAZARE


Respected Anna Ji,

If you would recall Anna Ji , we had last month appeared together on NDTV, for their popular Humlog programme related to corruption. Mr Prashant Bhushan, Swami Agnivesh & an ex IAS officer[who has resigned] were the other persons on the Panel.

Among other things, which were discussed you had indicated that you were going to meet the PM, the next day, about the proposed Jan Lok Pal Bill & in case the PM did not agree to your demands/ suggestions then you would resort to fast unto death from 5th April, at Jantar Mantar..

Well, that is a history now and the PM, very readily agreed to form a Panel!

Having spent my all career[ in the government] taking on the unethical system head on, just out of a call of conscience & finally winning the battle with the intervention of the courts, after about twenty five years[my so called battle is on public domain-websites www.giraffe.org at link find a hero & www.setindia.com/cid,] the alacrity, with which your demands were accepted in such a short time, by the Government, which I served for about thirty five years, infact, pleasantly surprised me!

There have been/ were arguments, discussions in the media that perhaps the support of your cause all over in India & even abroad by the civil society & youth in particular & thus huge support, could be the reason for the Government to concede your demands for forging a `Bill` which could effectively & efficiently address the corruption in the country, which the civil society also felt had assumed serious proportions.

The civil society is absolutely right to demand & expect that corruption which to my mind, is now like AIDS/ HIV of our Governance –System needs to be effectively addressed/ treated. Therefore the following questions come to my mind-Anna Ji------


How have you assumed that there would be some efforts by the political establishment & a section of bureaucracy to derail the Bill?

How can you satisfy the Nation & the Civil Society esp youth that the five members of your Group i/c yourself , have all the needed administrative, legal, social, technical negotiating acumen & skills to steer the negotiations in an amiable & effective manner to achieve the desired objectives viz arresting corruption in the country?

What procedure of selection Anna ji, you have used to include them in the Group?

Is n`t it only that they prepared the drafts of amended Bill? The premise that many were consulted during making the draft, to my mind does not convince many.

Why only five members to steer the drafting of this very important Bill? No member , to my knowledge has any long experience of personally, taking on the corrupt system, having he been himself, in the Govt? Why not a few more, erudite, seasoned men of proven integrity who initially were not connected with the preparation of the draft & with open minds. You will agree, that there are many of such kind in our country.

How the working of the administrative/political establishment & loopholes therein,would be envisaged minutely & effectively addressed, by the existing members?

How you & your Group with noble intentions, will find the TALL person of high integrity, attitude, stature, personality, to man the post of Jan Lok Pal & for how long & also the persons who will man his office & rid the country of corruption?

What are the checks & balances in the proposed Bill, that they would not go astray?

How various existing Acts & the proposed Bill are going to/would be enforced/ implemented?

Corporate world is an integral part of our economy/governance as various scams have brought out .How with the enactment of Jan Lok Pal Bill, mindsets of everyone will change & in what time-frame & Ram-Rajya will be in India?

Why the political establishment is only painted BLACK & termed CORRUPT? What about bureaucracy, corporates, judiciary & the media & sizable members of civil society? Corruption happens, to my mind, because of demand side & supply side.

The Supreme Courts, the High Courts Judges, the President, the PM, the CVC, the CBI, the CAG, the Secretaries of the Govt of India & the chain of senior ministers, officers both in the Centre & State are very very responsible positions & have been given very big powers & responsibilities as per the Constitution ,then what have been the reasons for their non performance of some & how Jan Lok Pal is going to be the panacea of all the ills of the Nation?

Yes, Anna Ji, your desire is superb! But, how the noble objectives are going to/ will, be achieved need elucidation , for the knowlege of civil society?

How the fears of some, of derailment of democratic process, going to be addressed besides demands of representations from various sections of society, which will unneccessarily create bad blood & dissipation of energy, resources & time?

The need, to my mind is an amiable, focussed, pragmatic process & enlightened open minds & not the confrontationist path which Anna Ji your well intentioned Movement, I am afraid, has already taken a little bit.

Let an amiable, effective, efficient & judicious approach be taken simultaneously, for reasons to prevail upon the minds of even those who indulge in corruption, so that they also start falling in line & work together for corruption-less India.

Let us rally together to, as well, change the mindsets of all those in the governance system & corporate world, who have gone astray & are making illegal money & stashing the same abroad.

Let us also include civil society & the youth in this `YAGYA`-of changing the mind-sets.

The Government from their side need to consider all those persons of civil society/ Establishment, who are against corruption & have themselves never indulged in corruption, as their[the Govt] well wishers & assets of the Nation.

They need to be encouraged in many ways.

The Government should also, on their own, take strict punitive measures against all those who have indulged in unethical & corrupt practices.

Let values & ethics rule the minds of the homogeneous Group.

Why the Govt Group & Anna Group?

Vijay K. Saluja

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