The extreme haste with which Anna Hazare appointed the civil society committee members is now playing out that he (Anna) will rue at leisure.
Vineet Narain’s case against the Bhushans looks more than plausible, given the way the Jain Hawala Case was derailed & resulted in naught. Even a cursory search on Vineet Narain will throw up the lifelong crusade he’s been waging against corruption. There is no reason to suspect his evidence, although his motives do bear a cloud, albeit hazy.
The simple question that when Shanti Bhushan was Law Minister, why didn’t he make any attempt to pilot the bill that was by then hanging fire for 10 years (now 43 yrs) is a show stopper as far as Shanti Bhushan’s is concerned.
Whether or not the CD is a fake is actually of little consequence to the public.
The problem is that we Indians are more concerned with WHO gets credit rather than WHAT is in the Lokpal Bill and be rest assured that the media will milk this for TRPs till they can. In the bargain, the focus will most certainly be diverted for the moment. Hopefully, Anna won’t give up in disgust.
The source of the problem is that Anna Hazare was hasty in roping the Bhushans in simply because they were the ones who helped him draft the initial Jan Lokpal Bill that he proposed. Given that that draft had already had 12 revisions before it was given to the committee as a basis of discussions, is in itself another indication of great haste in publishing and surely, of questionable legal skills considering the importance that this bill may well be the turning point in Indian democratic history. Had Anna not acted in haste, he would have saved himself, the movement and the nation all the embarrassment by offering plum targets like the Bhushans. Ofcourse, more will “show up” on the others – maybe even Anna Hazare himself – The Empire Strikes Back isn’t a film in this case. It’s real and expect many sequels.
Neither Vineet Narain nor the Bhushans can claim any credit for the one thing that really turned the tide against corruption: raising a whole Nation’s awareness that this fight can be won. That credit is wholly due to Anna Hazare and Gandhi’s concept of sathyagraha. Legal drafting can be done and mis-done by any number of legal luminaries, many of whom may even cooperate with the corrupt to bring down the committee out of sheer envy. But getting a bill through parliament depends entirely on rousing the nation to rise together leaving politicians no option in the matter.
The only way forward is for the focus to revert to the bill and away from who are the heroes.
That job must be the responsibility of Anna Hazare – like it was of Gandhi when similar ego clashes and vested interests wreaked havoc during the independence struggle. If the media are responsible, they can help him do it.
The drafting of the bill is the easiest part of the work. The fight against an Empire that will strike back ala star wars will be the time consuming work and take leadership qualities of a Gandhi. Will Anna Hazare measure up? Or will another step up? Time will tell.
In this age of the ‘speed of thought’, it will be most interesting to see if a 73 yr old man can move at a pace that satisfies a nation of 30 yr olds.
RESISTANCE CAUSES PERSISTENCE. The longer Anna Hazare resists replacing the Bhushans the longer it will take to revert attention back to the bill. If the next target is Arvind Kejriwal, and the onslaught is credible, he too should be replaced. This fight is far too important to let personalities be placed before principles. ULTIMATELY if the draft is unsatisfactory, Anna Hazare should resume the struggle to its logical end.
Twitter: @jsvasan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jsvasan
Tailpiece: The fact that Arvind Kejriwal & Co hadn’t planned for success of the fast arousing a nation’s voice is a telling commentary on the “organisation” of the India Against Corruption movement and it’s “think tank” if one exists at all.
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. – Marcel Proust
PS: For those interested here are some links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vineet_Narain
http://www.vineetnarain.net/index.htm
http://twitter.com/#!/KalchakraNews