Anna hazare's fast against corruption-I Have a strong suspicion

I have a strong suspicion

Today almost all the print and electronic media cover the victory of the hunger strike undertaken by a social activist Anna Hazare with prominence since the cause for which he undertook indefinite fasting has been accomplished through a publication of the Gazette Notification by GOI. According to the notification issued by Government, a Joint Drafting Committee has been formed consisting of 10 members, five cabinet ministers and five civil society representatives that of course include Anna Hazare for enactment of Lok Pal Bill against corruption. For people who wish to eradicate corruption from the Society, this is truly good news and a welcome development.

Who are all the cabinet ministers in the Joint Drafting Committee? P Chidambaram, the Home Minister who is the most preferred person for the post of the Finance Minister by the USA as revealed by the Wiki Leaks. As Finance Minister he truly followed the diktats of the USA throwing the economy open to the multi nationals. The consecutive budgets presented by him are responsible for this great divide between the poor and the rich today. The neo liberal policy adopted by the UPA Government in which he was FM for 5 years is the root cause for this enormous corruption. His son Karthik Chidambaram has admitted that money was distributed during the 2009 Parliament elections in Sivaganga constituency where Chidambaram stood and narrowly won as revealed by Wiki Leaks. Another cabinet minister is Pranab Mukerjee who is the present Finance Minister and in order to prove that he is no less loyal than Chidambaram or Montek Singh Aluwalia to the USA, has introduced the Banking Laws Amendments bill and Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority bill in the recently concluded Lok Sabha session. These, in essence will throw open lakhs of crores of rupees of ordinary people to the loot and plunder of Multi National Companies. The third person is Law Minister Veerappa Moily who is the convener of this committee. He is the person who is responsible for appointment of P J Thomas, a scam tainted person as CVC. He is also responsible for not booking Hasan Ali who has evaded Income Tax of several thousands of crores of rupees, effectively even after several indictments from the Supreme Court. Another cabinet minister in the committee is Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal who has hidden the full pumpkin in food saying that there was absolutely no loss to the Government exchequer due to sale of 2G spectrum in the First Come First Served basis. His lie has been nailed by CBI within a few days of his interview to the press in this regard, through arrest of Raja former Telecom Minister and charge sheet holding him and others responsible for the loss of around Rs.30000 crores to start with.

It is understood that “these ministers will bring a bill to eradicate corruption in public life through time bound trial and punishment which includes hanging” – who will believe this?

Who is this Anna Hazare? Except browsing his brief biography and learning that he is recipient of several awards including Padma Bushan and an award from USA, he has led this kind of hunger strike in a couple of times in the past, I do not know anything about him. I have not even heard about him before 5^th April 2011. I believe that this would be the case with the most of the serious political observers. He is joined by others, some of whom have some public integrity. Why this fast is undertaken now? Why such a big publicity over this? What is the motive of this “Anti corruption people’s movement? What is the general feeling of those who support this movement and celebrate victory today? They all say almost in one voice that “all the political parties are corrupt?” That is why this movement is called people’s movement according to them without the involvement of any political party. Anna Hazare has gone on record to say that he has not sought the help of any political party. Here lies the hidden agenda, I feel.

Today huge scams like 2G spectrum involving 1, 76,000 crores loss to the Government coffer, ISRO with 2 lakhs crores loss, Common Wealth Games, Adarsh Housing wherein the ruling Congress Party and its allies like DMK, Congress (Sharad Pawar) etc. are involved, come to the surface. Further Wiki Leaks has revealed that huge sum of money has been given away by the ruling Congress Party to purchase votes to retain the Government in 2008 when the Left Parties withdrew support to the UPA I Government on the principle of their stout opposition to the Indo Nuclear deal with USA. The scam of iron ore by Reddy Brothers (in one estimate amounting to 38000 crores of rupees) and Land allotment scam in Karnataka indulged by the BJP has also come to the fore.

Whether it is the scams that have come to the surface now or the tape conversation with Neera Radia or the scams like Hawala that have been revealed in the past, there has not been a single index finger against any of the leaders of the Left Parties like CPI(M) or CPI. So there is a clear distinction between the Parties which support the neo liberal economic policy which is the fundamental reason for scams like these and whose leaders themselves are directly or indirectly involved in scams and Left Parties which are opposed to this neo liberal economic policy and whose leaders have impeccable qualities in public life.

Now this crusade against corruption led by Anna Hazare is portrayed as one against all the Political Parties without distinguishing the right wing Political Parties which stand for continuation of the present economic policy which has resulted these scams and the Left Parties which stand against the present economic policy and whose leaders are with high order of honesty and integrity in public life. This is done when the Assembly elections to the five States including the ones led by Left Parties in West Bengal and Kerala are underway. An attempt is subtly but consciously made to blur the distinction between the Left Parties and Right wing Parties during this time, perhaps to deny the mileage these Left Parties enjoy over the other Parties due to the hard work and utmost sacrifice of the leaders of the Left Parties. This is not a good sign.

The general public and the right thinking intellectuals should raise a demand that in whole exercise against the corruption, the rightful place of the Left Parties should be ensured.