A Brilliant Idea by India Against Corruption

In 2011, 

from the site http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org

• in spite of the majority of ordinary Indians wanting a strong anti-corruption bill
• in spite of India Against Corruption (IAC) and hundreds of thousands of Indians out on the streets demanding one
• in spite of the government promising one if Anna Hazare, the head of IAC, stopped his fasts

the government eventually came up with such a weak version of the bill that the ultimate decision of policing corrupt individuals in government and ensuring their accountability, remained in the hands of ..... you guessed it, the government.

Today, IAC knows exactly what it is up against – the deadly curse of endemic corruption in too many individuals in politics. It is a sobering thought that it won’t be easy to get rid of. But the IAC have come up with a brilliant plan.

They acknowledge they've learnt a lot from last year. For example, they would like the ability to be directly in touch with the masses. Often, last year, ordinary members wanted some of their doubts clarified and questions answered and the core team were dependent on the media to do so. Whilst acknowledging their gratitude to the media for keeping them in the news, IAC also realised that often, the media was unable to write or speak about their reports in their entirety.  These were drip fed to the public losing their impact and often, even the true meaning of what the core team had said was lost. The main issue, therefore, was to find a way to maintain direct contact between the public and the core team. 

This is what IAC have come up with:

• ·       Volunteers to get groups of ordinary Indians together throughout India to listen to one topic a week.

• ·       This topic would be a Youtube discussion between the core team members.

• ·       This discussion would generate a lot of questions from ordinary Indians which would be noted by the organiser of their group.

• ·       These questions would then be passed on to the IAC core team through the helpline 97185 00606 or through the email address, indiaagainstcorruption.2010@gmail.com, by the organiser of each group.

• ·       The core team would then answer the questions they collect, to try and quell our doubts. 

If you'd like to be a volunteer, this is the site to visit:
http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/start-your-discussion-forum.html

All you'd be expected to do would be to get your group together, organise a meeting to watch the current IAC video, facilitate the discussion after and collect the questions that arise out of the discussion to pass on to the core team. You wouldn't be required to answer those questions. Those would be answered by the core team.

Another advantage of getting together with ordinary Indians like ourselves is the obvious one of discussing issues we care about firsthand - with other, like-minded people. Further down the road, we could easily come up with united action plans ourselves. Right now, once our doubts are clarified, the action plan would be decided by the core IAC team. 

Gives "social networking" a whole new meaning. 

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Anticorruption Bill 2011 Postponed Again

The New Bill 2011 to fight corruption in India (the lokpal) has been an eagerly awaited non event - since the past sixty years! After Anna Hazare's hugely popular fast was ended with the government promising Anna that they would discuss the bill in the monsoon session of parliament in 2011, everyone had started hoping it would ATLAST become law. Unfortunately from the monsoon session it was carried forward to the winter session and at the last minute the Congress balked and backed out. "Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley also said that the government had choreographed chaos to dodge a vote." (see http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lokpal-Bill-put-to-sleep-at-midnight/articleshow/11298043.cms)

Here's a short, award winning video on how corruption isplayed out in, and affects, India..

In any case, the government's version of the lokpal (anti-corruption bill) was weak. This is what an editorial in a respected Indian newspaper, "The Hindu", had to say about it."The Centre, which has retained administrative control (read: promotions, transfers, etc.) of the CBI via the Ministry of Personnel, knows better than most that he who pays the piper calls the tune.". 

One of my previous posts explains the problems in the present anti-corruption systems of India and the role of the CBI. Here's ten different people who've answered the following question - "why do many political parties in India question CBI's credibility from time to time?"
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101114114515AAYRZAP
All ten seem to agree that the CBI is used by the party in power to keep the opposition at bay:

Here's what I think the current government is scared of: An agency that polices the Congress plays right into the hands of the opposition. There are too many in the Congress and its coalition who've been tainted by corruption. Some of these politicians are influential. To have any of them under the scrutiny of an independent anti-corruption committee is to weaken and maybe even topple the coalition (UPI) government. The Congress is not about to jeopardise its hold on power.

The main opposition is the BJP - a right wing Hindu party. They would try their utmost, and probably succeed, in destabilising the ruling coalition. We all know there's corruption in those corridors too, apart from the non-secular politics they practice.

How does one eliminate the cancer of corruption then? What choices do the people have when neither party is free of corruption? when individuals from both treat tax payer money as their own? 

One option would be to look out for a third alternative to the current government+coalition partners and the opposition - perhaps an independent, someone totally new and inexperienced :-( BUT starting on a clean slate.

We'd have to wait till 2014 for that and we don't know what laws the government would try to push through before that to protect individual, influential looters.

Here's a suggestion from the former director of Infosys, Mohandas Pai - a split in the CBI - the wing that takes care of the opposition to government, and the wing that takes care of corruption. This is what he says: "The challenge in India for corruption cases has been the lack of investigation, the lack of resources and the lack of integrity in the investigation. If we don't want a Lokpal that is impotent, CBI needs to be under its control or it is not going to work." 

Justice V.N.Khare has expanded on this further in an interview with the Times of India. His reply to the following query by the times reporter, "Is there any merit in the Team Anna argument that the CBI should be brought under the Lokpal?" is as follows: I don't think that the entire CBI can be brought under the Lokpal. The CBI is a huge organisation whose investigative capabilities are used for so many things other than fighting corruption. At best you can put 50 or 60 CBI officers on deputation with the Lokpal. However, if the CBI is under the government and the government is the prosecutor, there is a clear conflict of interest in prosecuting government corruption. I believe the CBI should be autonomous in any case.

Which brings me to Team Anna's option: "India Against Corruption" (IAC) want an anti-corruption bill with a lot of teeth. They've drafted the Janlokpal bill. Team Anna’s demands include total independence of the CBI from the likelihood of government interference. Till team Anna came on the scene we knew about corruption in politics but we didn't know how these greedy individuals got away with siphoning off for themselves, what belonged to India and Indians. Team Anna made a lot of effort to expalin the loopholes in the anti-corruption systems. Who can deny what Prashant Bhushan, one of the members of Team Anna and one of the drafters of the Janlokpal bill had to say at Ramlila Grounds, Delhi,"This movement has forced the Government to pass a bill, however weak. It had to make a Joint committee, standing committee and then pass a bill. It is a weak bill, no doubt, but it is your pressure that made it happen." He said this before the government scuttled the bill yet again after the winter session of parliament.

IAC has shown us we need not feel so helpless - that we can, and must, agitate if we think the government won't bring in a strong anti-corruption bill. Government BY the people isn't only voting every four years and then letting those voted in have a field day looting India. I know lobbying is too hard and won't show results immediately. But if you believe there is rampant corruption that affects the ordianry people of India, it is worth making the effort.

There are some who feel team Anna's version of the bill would give too much power to the 9 member committee who would control the anti-corruption agencies. Arvind Kejriwal, from team Anna says that is a deliberate attempt to mislead the people; that the 9 member committee wouldn't have the power of impeaching anyone - just lodging the fir - the first information report. The impeachment procedure would remain unchanged and would be through the courts. (Listen from 2 minutes and 27 seconds of this Youtube video.)

I wonder what our cynics think of the version the government has put up - that bill, for starters, declares the government will pick the team that will police them. What's more, that team will be beholden to the government for promotions and transfers etc according to the newspaper editorial above. How can they not toe the government line? Also, what credibility does the government have now, after scuttling the bill again and again? Till we have a law to prevent or punish corruption, we've seen proof that they will continue looting the money Indians pay for India's safety, security, infrastracture, progress and the environment.

Everyone hopes the people of India win. We hope their hard earned money and taxes are used to benefit them and not greedy individual politicians. To make that hope a reality means making your voice heard. And whose voice is heard loud and clear? A billion lone (armchair) voices or a billion strong force?

My hope is that the eyes of the WORLD are trained on the non-violent movement. That can happen if more of us join the protests, making it clear as team Anna does, that our protest is against corruption - not against any political party.


Follow team Anna and India Against Corruption as they unfold their action plan once more.  And if you are able, join the protest.

Julian Hanton about India

Julian is a travel reporter who travelled to India. His closing comments on his video on India were,

The ever widening gap between the rich and the poor and the blurring lines between religion and business is what India will have to contend with in the very near future.

Why did he say that? When he travelled through India every poor person wanted his money which happens in all countries. But there are too many poor in India. The volume compounds the issue. Till people in power stop looting Indian tax payer money and instead spend it for the benefit of India and Indians poverty in India will never be addressed.

We've heard of scam after scam where huge sums of tax-payer money have been siphoned off by individuals; The newspapers and TV report it is lakhs of crores of rupees where 1 lakh crore=Rs 1,000,000,000,000.
we've heard how the Indian anti-corruption laws need changing so that a case against a corrupt person isn't addressed by people under the very person who has been charged with corruption;
we've heard of people demanding that every rupee illegally swallowed up by individuals should be returned;
we've started hearing of Indians, fed up of the level of corruption that is endemic in the country, starting to speak up;
we've heard of a huge movement, gathering momentum in India against corruption. We've started hoping again;
and of course, we've heard the government is fighting the ordinary people's desire to bring in the strong anti-corruption bill tooth and nail.

If you haven't heard of this movement - "India Against Corruption" and their action plan, here's the link: http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/

On a lighter note, this movement has gone viral. Here's a comment after the song "Mother" by Pink Floyd.
"Mother can I trust the government?" sing Pink Floyd, "Hell no!" says helen11937, "Just ask an INDIAN!"

Here's the link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBkTUzKAiXQ&NR=1



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10 things to know about Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Bill

Did you know Anna introduced solar panels and wind mills in his village 25 years ago? Read on...

Copied and pasted from Danish Aftab’s post on the India Against Corruption Facebook Site.

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1.      Who is Anna Hazare? An ex-army man. Fought in the 1965 Indo-Pak War.

2.      What's so special about him? He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahmadnagar district, Maharashtra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralegan_Siddhi.

3.      So what? This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is produced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel and wind mills. In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest villages in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly practices.  

4.      And...? This guy, Anna Hazare was awarded the “Padma Bhushan” and is a known figure for his social activities.

5.      Really? What is he fighting for? He is supporting a cause, the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India. How can that be possible? He is advocating for a Bill, The Jan Lokpal Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman’s Bill), that will form an autonomous authority who will make politicians (ministers), bureaucrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds. It's an entirely new thing, right..? In 1972, the bill was proposed by the then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Since then it has been neglected by the politicians and some are trying to change the bill to suit their theft (corruption).

6.      Oh.. he is going on a hunger strike for the passing of a Bill ! How can that be possible in such a short span of time? The first thing he is asking for is: the government should come forward and announce that the bill is going to be passed.

7.      Next, they should make a joint committee to DRAFT the JAN LOKPAL BILL. 50% goverment participation and 50% public participation - because one can’t trust the government to independently create a bill that doesn’t suit them.

8.      Fine, What will happen when this bill is passed? A LokPal – a committee will be appointed at the centre. It will have autonomous charge, say like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, a similar committee – the Lokayukta, will be appointed. The job of the Lokpal at the centre and the Lokayukta at the state levels will be to bring all individuals in the government accused of corruption, to trial within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished. Not like the Bofors scam or the Bhopal Gas Tragedy cases, that have been going on for the last 25 years without any result.

9.       Is he alone? Who else is there in the fight with Anna Hazare? Ex. IPS Kiran Bedi, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwalm, and just about every ordinary person. Prominent personalities like Aamir Khan and Shekhar Kapoor are supporting his cause too.  

10.   Ok, got it. What can we do? We can help spread his message.  How? By joining his website and facebook https://www.facebook.com/IndiACor sites, by actively commenting, sharing status messages, links, video, by believing in his cause and spreading the message and by understanding the flaws in the government's weak anti-corruption bill. He is fasting from 16^th August 2011 for a week. We are welcome to join the fast in a public place at any time (and stop at anytime). But he won’t stop until the government agrees to introduce the Jan Lokpal – a strong anti-corruption bill and not their weaker version which allows them to be the exceptions who do not come under the ambit of the bill.

(For a comparision of the government Lokpal Bill and the IAC's Jan Lokpal bills see

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0Bwgjs_Sh0LjJOGVkYTM3ZmQtODg4Mi00NjhkLTg0NGUtZmRlMGJiMDc2MWQ3&hl=en_US 

http://news.indiaagainstcorruption.org/?p=3319 
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-05/india/29854353_1_lokpal-bill-lokpal-law-team-anna 

The government jailed Anna before he could begin his fast but with a public outcry from his followers and others who called the government move unconstitutional, they were forced to relent and free him.

Let us support Anna Hazare and the cause for uprooting corruption from India. Let us hope that his Hunger Strike does not go in vain. Let us hope that he remains safe and well. Power to the people.

Here's what the BBC says about Anna http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14525537



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August 16 Indian Independence Day?

August 16?  But didn't India gain its independence on August 15?

Ah yes. But that was in 1947. Since then India has slowly but surely moved towards anarchy from its own representatives. They rule supreme. And whilst they rule, they indulge in looting. Scam after scam has been exposed by the Indian press but Indians have been mute and helpless against the all powerful parties in power. The anti-corruption bill has been stacked against whistle blowers, many of whom, if accounts I've been reading are true, have lost their lives; the anti-corruption bill ensures that corruption charges against politicians ultimately land up on the desks of people working under the very person who's being investigated. (see the post
http://nevermindyaar.blogspot.com/2011/04/problems-in-present-anti-corruption.html)


Anna Hazare and India Against Corruption have come up with an alternative - an anti-corruption bill that is for the people, for the tax payer, for whistle blowers and against the looting of tax-payer money. The government is fighting this bill, the Jan Lokpal Bill, tooth and nail. They want their own watered down version, the Lokpal Bill, implemented, whereby the scammers and looters continue walking off scot free. (http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/questionanswer.html)

Indians have joined  Anna and India Against Corruption in their droves. The battle of the mighty government Goliath and the people of India is on. Anna wants to start a fast to force the Government's hand - to insist that the IAC's Jan Lokpal Bill is implemented so that scammers and looters are brought to justice; so that future scams and looting is prevented; so that past scammers and looters are excused provided whatever they have looted is declared a "national asset".


The fast starts on August 16 2011. Many Indians will join the fast. The venue was supposed to be Jantar Mantar, N.Delhi. It is a popular venue for citizens' protests. The latest protest was the "Slut Walk" just a couple of days ago. (See my post on the "Slut Walk") Now, the police have banned peaceful gatherings of more than 4 people at  Jantar Mantar.

"The Hindu" has come out with an Editorial on this "Undemocratic Ban". Here's the link: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article2311296.ece

This Editorial deserves to go on everyone's web, blog and on all our facebook pages.

We do want to ensure no harm comes to Anna on the 16th of August 2011 and that Jan Lokpal is implemented to stop corruption, looting, the daily hardship borne by ordinary Indians when dealing with the municipality / government and the feeling of disgust Indians feel towards their representatives.

So what's it going to be - the people's victory or the looters'? Tune in to India on August 16 to find out.



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Proposed Government Anti-Corruption Bill an Eye-wash says India Against Corruption

If you want to know how and why the proposed Government version of the Lokpal Bill will let corrupt elements in our government continue being corrupt, read this article carefully.

India Against Corruption (IAC) has drawn up a chart which explains what exactly the government wants in the bill against corruption, what IAC's view (the IAC view is open to discussion and suggestions by anyone here - http://www.lokpalbillconsultation.org/) is and the many ways in which the government wants to retain a hold on who ultimately investigates corruption against themselves. 

For example, the government want the CBI to investigate corruption charges against themselves and guess who they say should be in charge of the CBI? You guessed it. Themselves!

Here's a sample of what IAC's chart contains:

The Issue: Who will Lokpal be accountable to?

IAC View: To the people. A citizen can make a complaint to Supreme Court and seek removal.

Government View: To the Government. Only government can seek removal of Lokpal

Comment from IAC: With selection (previous point) and removal of Lokpal in government’s control, it would virtually be a puppet in government’s hands, against whose seniormost functionaries it is supposed to investigate, thus causing serious conflict of interest.

To my mind, this is the worst point - punishing the ordinary citizens who dare to lay charges against anyone in the government. In IAC's own words: Rather than gunning for the corrupt and corruption, government’s Lokpal seems to be gunning for those who complain against corruption.

IAC thinks a fine for frivolous complaints would suffice. The government wants fines and imprisonment. Especially notice IAC's comment in the last column.

Issue: False, Frivolous and vexatious complaints

IAC's view: No imprisonment. Only fines on complainants. Lokpal would decide whether a complaint is frivolous or vexatious or false.

Govt: Two to five years of imprisonment and fine. The accused can file complaint against complainant in a court. Interestingly, prosecutor and all expenses of this case will be provided by the government to the accused. The complainant will also have to pay a compensation to the accused.

Comment: This will give a handle to every accused to browbeat complainants. Often corrupt people are rich. They will file cases against complainants and no one will dare file any complaint. Interestingly, minimum punishment for corruption is six months but for filing false complaint is two years.

And there are many more points. This is the link:

http://news.indiaagainstcorruption.org/?p=3022&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=govt-lokpal-bill-vs-jan-lokpal-bill

And after reading those, if you, as an ordinary citizen, as a lawyer or anyone from India or abroad have anything to say (about any point) I think IAC will really value your input. Don't forget the link http://www.lokpalbillconsultation.org/



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