Who is not afraid of anti-corruption agency in India?

-DR. ABDUL RUFF

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Behind the facade of democracy, India is among the most corrupt nations on this earth. The founding leaders like PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Police minster Vallabhai Patel, and military minister Menon are chiefly guilty of creating such a criminally corrupt and  state terrorist nation in Asia in  the first place. The corruption situation has become so intolerable ht thousands of  youth came to the streets in New Delhi and elsewhere to protest against corruption braving repressive measure of New Delhi. 

Anna Hazare and a group of serious people have, at long last, emerged to save the Indians from practices of corruption that is slowly  but steadily eating away the  positive crops off society.

By using his own life as a bargain chip, Anna Hazare sought to rally public support for his anti-corruption demands to create an independent anti-corruption agency, known as the Lokpal, to remove corrupt practices from the nation.  This has ignited capstone political fight between the ruling Congress party and opposition parties, especially the BJP and communists.

The issue of official corruption has dominated India’s politics this year almost threatening every powerful politician and bureaucrat.  Corporate world, shielded by the regime and major political parties of the nation and states, is also entirely in disarray.

Anna Hazare, old, sick and weak, fasted for days in New Delhi in a campaign that pushed the Lokpal issue to the forefront of India’s political agenda. Hundreds of thousands of supporters poured into the streets and forced the Congress party to agree to certain demands in shaping the Lokpal legislation. Hazare’s movement tapped into widespread public anger over corruption and managed to awaken India’s usually politically apathetic middle class.

A fully charged Hazare has vowed to wage a nationwide campaign to force lawmakers to create an anti-corruption agency to honestly work for the nation. 130,000 supporters have volunteered to participate in similar civil disobedience campaigns intended to force the government to carry out mass detentions. He is also planning to campaign in state elections against Congress and other parties in the coalition government.

The ruling Congress party took the emergence of Anna Hazare to champion the cause of nation and people, as challenge to their supremacy in Indian politics as every increasingly popular Hazare and leaders of the political opposition have criticized the party over corruption scandals.

It is apparent the Congress party is responsible for the rampant corruption in the country, equally promoted by all other parties including the BJP that claims patriotic credentials. Congress party leaders appeared determined to use the Lokpal issue and the parliamentary debate to place the political onus on their opponents, especially the BJP which it considers a threat to retaining power after the poll. .

Under tremendous pressure from Anna Hazare, for the first time in Independent India, the Indian political class felt answerable to the people and  the lawmakers in the lower house of India’s Parliament, the Lok Sabha, spent hours waging a contentious, nationally televised debate before finally passing the legislation in a late-night voice vote.  The diluted government’s Lokpal bill which was passed by the parliament is criticized by all, especially the leaders of the anti-corruption movement, although it would be created through a constitutional amendment, as a constitutional body, rather than as part of the broader government bureaucracy.

Congress decision to get a government sponsored Lokpal bill and get it passed in the parliament is not entirely surprising.

Anna Hazare’s struggle would continue. Anti-corruption movement is a permanent phenomenon to function as a key watchdog of corruption crimes in all walks of life!