Corruption: the real issue; AAP: the best alternative

As RG & NAMO trade charges on trivial issues like "ullu" & "chai wala", AK calls the bluff of the corrupt officials and is showing how he'd not give in to unconstitutional measures, which would scuttle passing of “Jan Lokpal bill”.

Friends; here is a statesman who has declared unequivocally that he'd go to any lengths to contain corruption, which is the most vexing issue irrespective whether we have a socialistic or capitalistic development model.

Even Govindachary endorses Arvind:

Here is a pertinent article where Govindacharya (who called Vajpayee a Mukhota- mask when he was the PM) so succinctly points towards the genesis of AAP:

...In the Mahabharata, the gurus broke the rules to attack him, and Arvind (Kejriwal) too might face such unethical attacks, from thaili shahs (bag men), to naukar shahs (bureaucrats) to rival parties. But the fact is that in terms of a political continuum, the process will be on, many experiments like this are in the pipeline.

Source:

‪http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/artic.../29972216.cms...

Corruption is the real issue of the third world:
“The scourge (corruption) debases democracy, undermines the rule of law, distorts markets, stifles economic growth, and denies many their rightful share of economic resources or life-saving aid," – Kofi Annan (former UN Secretary General)

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-06-10/us/27198347_1_corruption-democracy-secretary-general-kofi-annan

People who understand the importance of containing corruption over bland developmental rhetoric should get United and pave the way for the foremost anti-corruption crusaders - Anna Hazare and AAP.

If 95 paisa of a Rupee spent on development in India does not reach the intended beneficiaries then what so ever developmental model or how-so-ever much money the traditional political parties may pour into the system the common man would still remain poor and suffer from gross corruption.

I absolutely agree with the people who advocate that we need a visionary, strong and unselfish go-getter as our PM to steer the suffering multitude towards prosperity. However, what is equally crucial is: Where " ‪The World Is Flat " and is becoming flatter is NAMO that person? Or should it be AK??

IMHO; the people who fight elections with ill-gotten/ black money do not have the moral standing to talk about eradication of corruption. Very unfortunately most traditional parties in India fund their electoral expenses from unexplained sources. As they cannot explain the source they grossly under report their spending. Here is an article on this:

‪http://www.ndtv.com/.../india/the-rs-81-500-crore-lie-137943

Is Anna with AAP?
Anna does not like party politics. Hence he wanted people to fight corruption without forming a political party. His opposition to AAP is ideological and hence worth paying attention. Let’s examine this concept “Party less politics” holistically.

Party less democracy:
Anna is not the first to advance such utopian ideas. Mahatma Gandhi wanted to disband Congress after independence for the same reason. Perhaps it subsequently struck him that in such a situation the fundamentalist would gain the most and hence he did not pursue that much further.

Then MN Roy (21 March 1887 – 26 January 1954) founder of CPI also propounded the idea of “party less politics” after his disillusionment with communism. Though, there were few takers at that time he remained a constant well-spring for idealistic social workers, and continues to inspire many even till date.

In the fight against Indira Gandhi JP stumbled upon the same ideology and "Janata party" - the rainbow coalition of all non congress parties- was the offshoot. The experiment failed and the major gainer of this failed venture were the fundamentalists and the present day BJP.

Due to this folly of JP, RSS- which till such time was avoided by the common Indians due to their questionable role in Gandhi killing- gained acceptance and then grew apace.

In Odisha and in most other Indian states, guided by Gandhian ideology, many people experimented or talked about the same. However, selfish party politics completely shadowed all these people and experiments and by the time AAP was formed few believed in its efficacy.

Why another political party- AAP?

In India there are more than 1,500 political parties so was there a need for another political party? For one, it's a potent force for eradication of corruption. Two, it's the natural outcome of a national movement and not born out of the fancy of a politician or a bureaucrat. Three, its deeply routed in the time tested Gandhian ideology and out to wrest the Gandhi legacy from Congress where it has become a showpiece of ONE family. Four, AAP is quite different from any other political party especially when it comes to political funding. It doesn’t say that it would eradicate corruption but before that it would come to power by using corrupt funds. It collects and spends funds transparently and recognizes that political corruption is the beginning of most form of corruption and hence to have a corruption free India we have to start with clean political parties. Five; it is aligned with 21^st century realties like open source and crowd sourcing. It's a genuine effort to harness the power of the swarm and hence brings about a clean break with “money bag” and “muscle power” politics. In this context it’s also pertinent to have a look at the genesis of AAP.

Disillusioned with day to day corruption Arvind took leave and experimented with volunteerism:

Arvind Kejeriwal could have enjoyed a comfortable life as he and his wife were class one officers in GOI (IRS- Indian Revenue Service- officers). However, he decided to tread a different path. He took unpaid leave and started an NGO, which would work relentlessly to uphold the right of the common man to information. RTI Act was a natural outcome. Recognizing his outstanding contribution, in passing this historic Act, he was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award in 2006.

Experiment with Swaraj and use of RTI:

He continued his engagement with the common mass and started studying the problems of the common man by using the newfound weapon- RTI. A major scam in PDS was unearthed but it did not result in any benefit, as the justice delivery system is weak in India. Hence, he now tuned his attention to punishing the corrupt through institutional measures.

ANNA and the national resurgence against corruption:

In UPA-II many big tickets corruption were discovered with almost mechanical precision. RTI helped unearth these daylight robberies by the Babus and Netas and the entire country was getting ready to take on these cohort of corrupt netas and Babus head on. Arvind understood the need of a staunch Gandhian to lead the movement and Anna Ji was rightly requested to lead the movement. IAC- India against corruption- was formed and peoples imagination was fired by the nationwide peaceful demonstrations that followed.

Jan Lokpal became the new war cry:

Anti corruption measure in the form of a stringent Jan Lokpal Bill became the war cry of the people who were fighting an apolitical fight to institute this systematic measure to contain corruption.

Disgust with political double speak and toying with the idea of a political fight:

As mentioned above; the political class is good at at-least on thing: playing politics! Repeated fastings by Annaji and other people was not yielding any tangible result and gradually the it was becoming clear and clearer that unless IAC thought out of box this movement would simply become another event in history and the politicians would continue to laugh their way to power without much accountability.

AK suggested they should also explore the option of fighting elections. All the senior leadership of IAC got together and did a brainstorming. Anna ji opposed forming a political party, as he believed in party less democracy. However, overwhelmingly the mood was in favor of it. Besides the conscientious opposition of Anna Ji and Justice Santosh Hegde there was a small section of people- in this senior leadership- which was sympathetic to saffron politics and hence were happy seeing the benefit of this groundswell going to BJP. They opposed formation of a political party; for, they sensed it would be an obstacle in the path of BJP.

AAP was born on 26 November 2012:

On the 53^rd  anniversary of adoption of Indian constitution (26 November 1949) AAP was formally launched. Unlike Anna; AK is a very learned person and hence didn't want to repeat the mistake of JP neither he got carried away by idealism which has failed many times in the past. Hence, he didn't want the benefits of anti corruption movement to go to BJP entirely. Despite his serious doubt in current day politicians he had to form a political party. How apt for AAP to contest the unconstitutional provisions which grossly undermine the sanctity of Delhi legislative assembly and require prior approval of Central government before a bill can be placed in Delhi assembly?

A few more words about Lok Pal:
Dr L.M.Singhvi coined the word 'lokpal' - a constitutional ombudsman -in 1963. The first Jan Lokpal Bill was proposed by Shanti Bhushan in 1968 and was passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969, but did not pass through the Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, 'lokpal bills' were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008, yet they were never passed. After AAP routed Congress and threw cold water on the aspirations of BJP (8 December 2013), a “Lokpal Bill” which could not be passed for Fifty-five years got passed hurriedly within just 10 days  (0n 18 December 2013).

AK had rightly judged the situation. Unless they- the traditional political parties- faced a political threat they (most of whom are corrupt politicians ) would never let a LokPal Act see the light of the day! This time around also Mulaym Singh of Samajbadi Party was hell bent against passing of this bill (There are many cases of disproportionate assets against him and his family members); however, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party were very concerned to perk up their image and hence they passed a toothless LokPal Act.

Talking about the Guarantees dished out by Ms Kiran Bedi:

Kiran Bedi didn’t want formation of AAP as she has sympathy for BJP. So her position is completely different from Anna ji or Justice Hegde. She is also likely to contest on a BJP ticket. So it was with a selfish intent, not ideological difference, she and a few others opposed formation of AAP. For them, they would contest with a BJP ticket and AAP should not be a spanner in their path of political one-up-man-ship! Now Ms Bedi gives guarantee about good governance by Modi! The moot question is: How can Kiran Bedi give Guarantee about Modi? And, what use such cheap tricks are when essentially these are meant for hoodwinking the masses?

If Ms Kiran Bedi and General Singh support BJP then that's their personal choice and if they contest with BJP tickets that would be fine. But what moral right they have to say that it was wrong in part of AK to form a political party when they have their own political axes to grind?

There are historical evidences where…

Let’s assume Ms Bedi and General Singh are good people. Then, have not good people been misled in the past? Read about the rise of Nazism and you'd be shocked to see how many well-meaning people were mistaken by Nazism’s appeal and that's why it gathered such a potent force. The scale of genocide and destruction that followed, with the rise of Nazism and Fascism, is already well known and documented in history.

The rise of AAP is a natural remedy against corruption:

Friends; its heartening to notice the courage displayed by AK; when he says he is ready to sacrifice his chair to uphold our constitution, federalism and pass a tough “Jan LokPal Act”. It's a crucial time and we have to understand that containing corruption- both ideological and financial- should be the real concern and hence we should be happy for the rise of AAP.